The Wolf and the Rabbit
by OathxX
Summary: A new female exorcist is brought to the Black Order. She attracts the attention of Kanda and Lavi, developing feelings for both exorcists. I haven't finished the story yet so i don't really know where it will go-This is my first ever fan fiction, please be understanding if it is sucky-I know it will be slow at first, but bare with me, i promise i'll try to make it more interesting.
1. Chapter 1

I walk up to the gates of the Black Order headquarters for the first time. The castle is huge, dark and daunting against the night sky. I stop before the great gate, gazing at its elaborate structure. Beginning to question why I came here, I step back. _Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I should go back...no, stop being a child, this is right. They're the ones who called me here after all. _Taking a deep breath, I step closer to the gate. "Hault!" A voice booms out from above me, shattering any confidence I had mustered up. I watched in disbelief as a huge face protrudes from the gate wall. "Prepare for akuma scan!" The face yells. I stand paralyzed in fear as the face rushes out at me. The face is silent as it scans, its enormous eyeballs flashing blinding light over me. I find my voice, breaking the intense silence. "Is everything oka-"

"PENTACLES! SHE HAS PENTACLES! SHE'S AN AKUMA!" The face cuts me off with its booming voice. "What!? I'm not an akuma I swear!" I protest, backing away slowly. Ignoring me, the face yells on, "DESTROY THE AKUMA INTRUDER! DESTROY THE AKUMA BEFORE IT KILLS US ALL!" The creature sucks itself back into the wall , screeching with fear. Shaken by the outburst, I nearly trip over my own feet backing up. "AKUMA! KILL THE AKUMA!" The face continues. I look to the top of the wall and see a silhouette standing in the moonlight. A blade flashes in the midnight glow. "AKUMAAAA!" I look back at the face, still in shock by its deafening voice. _That's it. I need to get out of here. _I turn on a dime, ready to bolt. Whipping myself around, I thrust myself forward. Instead of running, my body comes to an abrupt hault. My face buries itself into something hard and warm. The force of my stride coming to an unexpected halt knocks me off balance. A deep grunt sounds above me. I look up startled, finding two dark eyes glaring down at me. A cold blade rests snugly against my legs, threatening to cut my skin. The towering figure above me steps back, causing me to lose my balance completely, sending me straight to the ground. Flinching, I look up at the figure. The moonlight unveils the silhouette. A man stands before me, tall and lean. His long dark hair rustles in the night breeze, shimmering with dark shades of blue. His face, stern yet young. "KILL THE AKUMA!" The face on the wall urges. I try to get up, but in one swift movement, the man has the end of a katana pressed against my head. "I'm not an akuma I swear!" I yell, backing away from his blade. He doesn't move or speak. I search his face for some sign of emotion. When our eyes meet, he flinches, quickly looking away. "She's not an akuma you idiot." His voice is so deep, I hadn't expected him to sound like that at all. The face on the wall begins to protest, "SHE HAS PENTACLES!" but it's words are cut short. The man redirects his blade from my head, to point at the face. ""Haven't you ever seen a parasitic type before? You useless rock." His voice grows agitated. Sinking back into the wall completely, the face becomes nothing but a design and the gate opens. "What's your name?" I ask the swordsman. He scoffs, sheathing his sword before walking through the gate. _Whatever. _I stand myself up,ready to finally enter the gate.

The inside of the castle is huge, with levels upon levels of hallways and rooms, always circling around a universal balcony that leaves a hollow center through the entire castle. I walk around aimlessly, taking in my surroundings. _I'm totally lost. I should have just followed that grumpy swordsman._With no better place to go, I stop at the balcony, leaning over its rails and letting one of my arms hang. Looking up and down, each level looks the same, with black-rock walls on every floor. I sigh and close my eyes. "This place is impossible."

"There you are!" A cheerful voice calls out from behind me. I turn around to see a beautiful girl smiling at me. "You're the new exorcist right?" She asks, folding her arms behind her back. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Two long green pig-tails rest behind her back and sparkling violet eyes light up her face. "Yea that would be me." I finally answer her, moving away from the railing. "My name is Lenalee, welcome to the order!...um.."

"Sage, nice to meet you Lenalee" I answer her, holding out my hand. She smiles, shaking my it happily. "Let me show you around the order!" She tells me, grabbing my arm and leading me.

We wander all throughout the castle, around the science labs, to the cafeteria and all throughout the rooming areas. Lenalee stops us at a particularly messy room in the science wing. The room is circular and the walls are covered by bookshelves. The floor, a sea of papers and books. A desk sits at the back of the room, covered by a mountain of books, threatening to give way at any moment. "Brother, I've brought the new exorcist here to see you!" Lenalee calls out to the distraught desk. Suddenly, the desk explodes as a tall man with slicked back purple hair and a white barrette comes bursting out of the book mountain. "Ah! Yes! Very good Lenalee!" The man says rushing up to us, his white coat flowing behind him. "Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Komui and I am the chief here at H.Q!" He smiles warmly at me. His skin is just as fair as Lenalee's and his eyes sparkle just like hers. "I apologize for your entrance earlier, that silly guard has no common sense, good thing Kanda was paying attention!" He continues, smiling behind his glasses. "Kanda? You mean that grumpy swordsman?" I ask, remembering the man from before. Lenalee laughs, "Yup, thats him alright." Remembering my long journey to the order, I realize how tired I am. A yawn forces its way out of my mouth, without permission. Komui looks me over. "Hm, I had planned on taking you to Hevlaska today for a reading but I suppose it could wait until tomorrow. Lenalee, please show our new exorcist to her room." Lenalee nods, heading out of the office. "Follow me." She smiles.

Five minutes later we're at at a door identical to all the others. "Well, this is your new room. You can decorate it how you want, even though you might not spend too much time in it. Anyways, it's all yours!" Lenalee grins. I open the door and look over the spacious room. "Thank you Lenalee." I tell her, touched by her kindness. "No problem. Sleep well!" She says before walking off. I open the door and enter the room. The walls are a stone black, just like the walls of the entire building. A single window rests at the middle of the back wall, letting moonlight fill the room. The room isn't too small, it's actually fairly spacious, with a bed, dresser and lamp as its only fillings. I look around the room. _I wish I'd brought something more than the clothes on my back. _Walking over to the window, I gaze outside to see the land around the order. The moon gives everything a blue tint, casting a soft light on the grass below. My favorite part is that the order is so high up, that everything around its little patch of grass is just a drop off surrounded by clouds. Feeling my eyes grow heavy, I walk over to the bed and plop myself down onto it. It's softer than I expected and I quickly fall asleep.

*_It's so beautiful out here at night. I look around the grassy field that surrounds the Black Order castle. Moonlight fills the area, glowing blue on my pale skin. A cool breeze sends my long and choppy black hair sailing. The breeze brings the scent of grass and earth to my nose and I can't help myself anymore. I take off running through the field, feeling the cold, soft grass on my bare feet. I can run tirelessly and quickly in this state, as if my body has never known fatigue. The night is too perfect, I never want to leave. As I run, a long cloud covers the moon, stripping its soft glow from the field. It gets so dark that I can't see anything around me. In the darkness, I run into something familiarly hard and warm. The same deep voice that met me at the gate growls above me. As the long cloud passes, the moonlight reveals the blue-haired swordsman. I fall back onto the grass, dazed from the sudden stop. Just like before, the swordsman points his blade at my head. "Your name is Kanda right?" I ask him, trying to control my voice. He doesn't answer me, he just scoffs when I say his name and presses the blade harder against my head. A thin stream of blood runs down my face. "What are you doing?" I try to yell at him, but my voice won't cooperate. He raises his blade, preparing to strike it down on me. I try to back away, but my legs refuse to work. I close my eyes as he brings the blade crashing down. Something soft brushes over me and I hear a heavy thud. No pain comes. Opening my eyes, I see a large black wolf on top of Kanda. It lashes out at him, ripping at his throat. The swordsman's body turns to dust as the wolf bites. Once he is gone, the wolf turns to me, snarling with blood on its muzzle. "No. Go away." I tell the beast. My voice irritates it and it snaps at my face. My legs find their strength again and I shoot up, starting to run. I can hear the wolf behind me, snarling and nipping at my heels. My legs move as fast as they can, but they aren't as fast as those of the beast. It slams into my back, bringing us both to the ground. I try to wrestle with it, pushing it away as it bites at me. "Get off!" I yell, attempting to command it. Its teal eyes glare into mine and I freeze. The last thing I see, is bloody fangs closing in on me.*_

I wake abruptly, out of breath. My arms are outstretched, pushing against a force. My hands grip the collar of a coat instead of the thick mane of a wolf. An emerald green eye stares down at me instead of the teal ones that left me paralyzed in my dream. "You're a really violent sleeper, you know that?" The man standing over me says. His voice is nice, calming even. I slow my breathing, pulling my hands back. "Well, I was told to bring you to Hevlaska, but when I came in here you were freaking out. I tried to wake you up, sorry for intruding." He says, standing up straight and rubbing the back of his head. He's tall and his messy red hair is held up by a green bandana. An eye patch covers his right eye, while the other looks me over. I sit up, combing my fingers through my hair quickly. "I don't know where that is." I tell him, standing up and straightening out the clothes I fell asleep in. "That's ok, I'll take you to her!" He says excitedly. I look at him confused, "Her?"

"Hevlaska is the exorcist that holds onto all the unused innocence we have here at headquarters. She's going to tell you how well you and your innocence are synchronized. She looks pretty intimidating at first, but she's really friendly." He explains, heading for the door. "My name is Lavi by the way. What's yours?"

"Sage. Nice to meet you Lavi." I tell him. He gets this funny look on his face and opens the door for me. I follow him out and he leads me through the castle. We walk onto a pyramid shaped platform where Komui is waiting. "Good morning Lavi, Sage." He greets us, as he pulls a lever on the platform. The whole thing drops straight down through the hollow center of the castle. It started so fast I could barely stand up. I lose my balance and begin to fall, but before I can hit the ground, someones arms wrap around me, catching my fall. "Shit, sorry!" I say, looking back to see who caught me. Lavi stands behind me, holding me in place. "It's fine, really." He smiles. The platform comes to an abrupt stop, nearly knocking both of us onto the ground. Komui laughs at our clumsiness and fixes his barrette. "Alright Hevlaska, go ahead." He says. Lavi moves me in front of him, pushing me forward. "Don't be afraid of her, she's practically harmless." He tells me. I look around confused. "What are you talking abou-" Before I can finish, three glowing-white tentacles wrap themselves around my waist, lifting me high in the air, to the face of a ghost like woman. "Holy shit. Hi." I sputter, trying to loosen the grip of the tentacles holding me. "Hello, exorcist. Please hold still for a moment." The ghost-like female tells me. I obey her, lying still in her grip. She's tall, at least fifty feet, and her eyes are covered by tentacle or hair-like appendages. Her entire body is white, with a ghostly glow. I'm not sure how long she's been holding me, minutes, hours, but after a while, she finally puts me down. "That wasn't so bad was it?" Lavi asks, patting me on the head. _What does that mean? A pat on the head...is he taunting me? _I shake my head, agreeing with the red-haired exorcist. "Hevlaska, the results?" Komui asks, pushing his glasses back up his face. "Parasitic type weapon. Innocence and accommodator synchronization is at 92%. She tells him. I look at Komui a little confused. "Is that good?" Komui chuckles to himself a bit. "Yes that is good. It seems like parasitic type innocence usually do have very high sync rates." I nod, trying to remember everything I had been taught about innocence prior to coming here. "Well, I'll have a mission for you soon enough, until then just try to make yourself at home." He smiles, dismissing Lavi and I. Komui pulls another lever and we are sent sailing back up the castle.

After a big breakfast with another exorcist named Allen, I find my way to the main training room. Finders and exorcists are scattered around the room, watching two exorcists fight in the designated area. Kanda, the blue-haired exorcist from before and Allen, the exorcist I met at breakfast, relentlessly attack each other. At first it seems like they mean to kill each other, but the entertained reactions of those watching determines that the fight is just some intense training. I sit on the floor in the back, afraid to approach anyone else. It truly is amazing to watch the two of them fight. Kanda, so quick with his katana, and Allen, relentless with his weaponized arm. Leaning against the wall, I watch them, wondering how on Earth I would ever be able to keep up with fighters like that. "They're pretty good aren't they?" A familiar voice asks me. I turn to see Lavi walking over to me. I hadn't quite noticed before, maybe because I was half asleep, or maybe I was just too nervous to pay attention, but he was actually a really attractive guy. As he sat down next to me I couldn't help but admire him for a moment. "Yea, they really are." I finally answer him. "You don't have to be so shy you know, everyone here was in your position at one point." He tells me. How could I not be so shy? Everyone here seems so intimidating and they all know each other already. "I'm not the most social person in the world." I tell him, picking at a hole in my pants. "Oh that reminds me! Your uniform is in your room now, I guess that makes you an official exorcist." He grins, patting me on the head like he did earlier. _This again. I wonder, if this is his way of showing friendship? Does this mean that Lavi is my friend?_ I look at him confused, "Why are you being so nice to me?" My question must have caught him off guard, because he takes his hand away and rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess it's because I like you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The past few days here moved by slowly, allowing me to bond with a few exorcists and grow comfortable in my surroundings. In the mornings, Allen shares buffet-sized breakfasts with me and tells me stories about his past missions. Lenalee took me into town to shop for new clothes and necessities for my room. Kanda trains hand to hand combat with me in the afternoons but Lavi is the one who spends the most time with me. I lay in my bed, looking up at the ceiling and enjoying the silence of my room. The sun has just risen and Allen will be at the cafeteria for breakfast soon. My stomach rumbles loudly. "I guess it's that time." I laugh. I get up walking over to the door, rubbing the creases out of my new uniform. It really is a magnificent uniform, the sturdy black coat goes all the way down to my thighs, with sleeves that stop at my elbows. The silver buttons keep the coat fitting to my body, showing off my curvy figure. The neck of the coat cuts down into a V shape, with a collar that flares up around my neck. When I was out with Lenalee, I bought several pairs of fitting black cargo pants that I could easily move around in, that way I could wear them with my exorcists coat. The boots that I had worn to the order were completely ruined by the time I had arrived, but luckily I found a sturdy black-leather pair that come all the way up past my knees, when I was out shopping with Lenalee. My long black hair rests wildly at my back, partially tangled in my chain. I separate the hair from the thick metal chain around my neck, pulling the chain down to my collar bones. With all my clothes in order, I pull open the door and walk out. "Good morning beautiful." I hear the familiar calming voice behind me. "Lavi?" I ask, turning around to see the the emerald eyed exorcist leaning against the wall by my door. _When did he start waiting outside my door?_ "How long have you been here?" He hops up from the wall and places himself next to me, walking with me to the cafeteria. "Only ten minutes or so, I know you like to eat with Allen around this time. Let me walk you down." He tells me. I couldn't help but grin, no man had ever showed such an interest in me, especially not someone as attractive as Lavi.

Lavi and I sit at a table with Allen, eating our breakfasts. "You parasitic types sure do have an awesome appetite." Lavi laughs, watching Allen and I clear plate after plate of food. I can't help but feel a little embarrassed at the obscene amount of food I was scarfing down in front of Lavi. But he seems so use to it, almost entertained by our bottomless stomachs. After a few minutes of stacking empty plates, I finally stop, unable to keep up with Allen. I lean back in my chair, feeling full and happy. "Yuu!" Lavi yells mockingly. I look up to see the tall, blue-haired exorcist standing behind Lavi. "Don't. Call me that!" He yells at Lavi, smashing his head into the table. I jump back startled by the fierce aggression. Lavi sits back up rubbing his forehead. "Why you gotta be so mean Kanda?" He asks his attacker. Kanda just scoffs at him before stating his business. "Komui assigned us a mission, he wants us to bring the new girl."

"Well why didn't you just say so?" Lavi asks, standing up. "When do we leave?"

"Right now." Kanda tells him, turning for the exit and walking away. "Come on Sage!" Lavi yells, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of my chair, following Kanda.

Before long, the three of us are on a train and on our way to a small town in Venice. According to Komui the woods around the town are supposedly cursed. Towns people who enter the woods reportedly attack each other with no recollection of the event after leaving the woods. So far, twenty people have been killed by this mysterious 'curse'. Komui believes that innocence could be involved and wants the three of us to go and check it out. We sit in a cabin on the train with a finder waiting outside the door. Kanda sits opposite of me, leaning against the window. Lavi sits next to him, leaning against the cabin door. They let me have the other seat all to myself, so I take advantage and stretched my legs out on the bench. "Hey Sage, I don't think we've ever actually seen your innocence. You told us you're a parasitic type, but what part of you is made up of innocence?" Lavis asks me. I move my hair behind my back, uncovering the V neck of my coat. The low cut collar reveals a glowing green shape identical to the one on Allen's hand. "This is the only visible part of my innocence, at least right now. My innocence is actually inside my body, I'm not sure where exactly but it's there." I explain to him. "Wow, that's awesome!" Lavi leans in closer, trying to get a better look at my marking. Kanda scoffs at us, grabbing the collar of Lavi's coat and pulling him back. "Go to sleep. We have a long night ahead." Kanda orders, leaning back against his window. Regardless of how cold he acts, I couldn't help but feel comfortable around him. I close my eyes and lean against the window, snuggling into my coat. Before long, the constant rocking of the train and the soft breathing of the two exorcists across from me lulls me to sleep.

_The train comes to an abrupt halt, sending me flying out of my seat and onto the floor. "What the?" I look around the cabin to find Lavi and Kanda missing. The lights on the train flicker then die out as deafening thunder cracks through the night. It takes my eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness. "Lavi? Kanda?" I call out in the emptiness, only to be answered by silence. Lightning fills the cabin with a burst of light and I can hear a loud crash from down the hall. I get up cautiously, peeking out the door. I wander down the narrow hallway, searching for Kanda and Lavi. There's another crashing sound at the end of the hallway, but the darkness prevents me from seeing the cause. "Guys?" I call out. Lightning fills the train once more, revealing a large black wolf. "No. Not you." I feel tears begin to well up in my eyes. The wolf snarls at me, its teal eyes glowing in the darkness. It takes a step forward, promising to attack. "Go away!" I scream, turning around and running down the hall. Its heavy pawsteps dash after me down the hallway. "Please, stop." I beg it with tears streaming down my face. The wolf doesn't let up. It tackles me, bringing me down to the floor. I flip onto my back, facing the wolf. It snaps at my face, trying to bite at my throat. I grab its muzzle, attempting to keep its jaws shut. "Go away. Go away. Go away." I cry, closing my eyes in the struggle. The dark wolf breaks free of my grip and rakes its claws against my chest. I scream in pain and use all my strength to kick the wolf off of me. As soon as its off, I scramble to my feet and dash for the cabin I had been sleeping in. The wolf chases after me, close behind. I bank into the cabin, slamming the door on the nose of the wolf, but the beast is relentless and it smashes the door away. I fall back against the window, sliding onto the floor. The wolf takes its time, growling in front of me. "No. Please!" I cry, gripping my chest, my fresh wounds burning. Our eyes meet and I'm paralyzed with fear, I close my eyes and wait for the pain of the wolf's next strike. _

"Sage! Sage!" Instead of a snarl, I hear the worried voice of Lavi. Hands firmly grip my shoulders instead of heavy paws. "Open your eyes! Its ok! You're safe now." He tells me, shaking me to reality. I open my eyes to see Lavi kneeling on the floor in front of me with Kanda standing behind him, a distressed look on his face. I look down at my chest, my hand still clenching my coat at the place the had wolf scratched me. The wound is gone and so is the intense burning that came with it. "You're crying." Lavi tells me with obvious pain in his voice. I take my hand from my chest and wipe the tears off my face. _What had I been doing in my sleep? I knew that I had been crying in my dream, but I didn't know It had translated over into real life. _I look at my wet hand, noticing it shaking. "Hey, are you shaking?" Lavi asks me. I grab my shaking hand tightly, pulling it against my coat to try and hide it. "You were screaming." Kanda says from behind Lavi. He isn't looking at me anymore but he still looks distraught. I must've really been going at it. "I-I'm so sorry I woke you…" My voice betrays me completely, coming out shaky and weak. The sound of my voice sets me off completely and I suddenly can't control my whole body. I begin to shake uncontrollably, my heart pounds rapidly in my chest. "Sorry." I say again, barely able to speak the word. "Sage!" Lavi yells. In an instant I'm being pulled forward, my face planting into Lavi's coat, his arms wrapped tightly around me. "It's ok." He tells me, his voice is so calming I can't help but relax a bit. He holds me tighter and I grip his coat, burying my face in it. His scent is so nice, he smells like smoke, not like cigarette smoke, it's like a woodsy smoke, as if he had been covered in the smoke of a campfire all day. I sit there, in his arms, waiting for the fear to pass.

I'm not sure how long we sat there for, but I had nearly fallen asleep when Lavi finally moved me to the bench seat. "I'm sorry for bothering you all so much." I apologize. Kanda and Lavi take a seat across from me. "Does that happen often?" Lavi asks, crossing his legs. "No, really, this was just a freak thing." I tell him. Kanda scoffs, his eyes boring into me. "Like hell it was."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I say defensively.

"Your room is right next to mine. I can hear you. You scream like that every damn night." I can't argue with him at that point. I want to apologize again but I'm too embarassed. "Why the hell didn't you do anything about it Kanda!" Lavi scolds.

"Because I'm not going to wonder into a woman's bedroom in the middle of the night."

"You can't just ignore that!"

"Guys, it really isn't a big deal. I'm really sorry you had to hear all of this, I didn't know I was actually making a fuss out loud." I interrupt them, smiling for reassurance. Lavi sighs, leaning against the wall. "We'll be there soon." Kanda says, looking out the window once more. I bunch up against the window, hugging my knees. Lavi rests his head on his fist, watching me from his seat. I close my eyes once more, bringing my hand to the glowing-green mark on my chest. I brush my fingers over it, feeling it react to my touch. _Damn you. You stupid thing. You're suppose to be helping me damn you._ I take my hand away from the mark and pull my coat over it, ready to go back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I just figured out how to put an author's note in. ANYWAY. Thank you for all the constructive criticism, please fav, follow and review if you like the story! I'm trying to keep it interesting and up to date. Your reviews really help me with my writing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DGM in any way shape or form, I do however own this here fan fiction. ^.~**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

It didn't take us long to reach the cursed woods once we got to Venice. By the time we arrived, the sun had just set and the woods had grown dark. We sit at the edge of the woods, preparing for the night to come. Kanda leans against a tree, rubbing a cloth down his katana blade, making it shine in the faint moonlight.

"Where did our finder go?" I ask.

"Lavi sent him into town to find out more information on this so called curse." Kanda tells me without looking up.

"What's its name?" I ask him, pointing at the blade. He seems reluctant but he eventually gives in and answers, "Mugen."

"I figured it had to have a name, all great weapons do." A little grin curls up on Kanda's face as he sheaths the sword.

When Lavi returns from town we decide to split up. In order to find the innocence that may be causing the phenomenon in these woods, we need to cover as much ground as possible. "Lavi,

you search the far side of the woods. Sage, you go straight down the center. I'll take the side opposite to Lavi's. We stay within a mile of each other at all times. Let's get this done by sunrise." Kanda tells us. Lavi salutes Kanda and answers him mockingly. "Aye, aye captain!" I giggle as Kanda scoffs. "Just get it done." He repeats, before walking into the woods. "Be careful in there." Lavi winks at me as he leaves for his part of the woods. I shake my head at him jokingly, setting off on my own.

I wander through the forest, searching through the trees. The woods have been silent so far and I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. I pause, looking down at the innocence glowing on my chest. _If I let you out...will you behave? _My mark flashes lightly, as if to answer my question. "Fine." I say out loud, taking off my exorcists coat and laying it down by a tree. "Innocence...Activate." The mark releases a quick flash of green light and I can feel myself changing.

My back arches and bones pop. I'm brought down to my hands and knees as my limbs change. I close my eyes and feel fur sprout from my skin. It only takes a few moments for the change to complete and I open my eyes again. The world looks different now with my senses heightened. I lift my nose to the air and take in the scents around me. I can smell everything, Lavi, Kanda, even their innocence. _You'll behave yourself right? _I take off running through the woods, searching my perimeter. There's a small clearing up ahead where a pond lies still in the moonlight. I stop at the edge of the water to take a drink. My reflection stares back at me in the water, the wolf from my nightmares alive and in the flesh. It isn't as scary when it's like this, when it's me, it's almost beautiful. Fur, black like the night. Teal eyes, clear like gemstones, and a green-glowing mark on my chest. I stare into my own eyes, the beasts eyes. _Let's make this count. _

I patrol the woods, searching for the scent of innocence. The deeper into the woods I go, the darker it gets. Eventually, even the moonlight can hardly pass through the thick canopy of the trees. Dim light shines through in small patches. My ears prick and my fur stands up, I can hear a twig snap somewhere above me. I look up just in time to see a figure dropping from the trees. Snarling, I dodge its attack. "Big hammer, little hammer! Grow, grow, grow!" The figure yells. I back up and the figure steps into a patch of moonlight. _Lavi?_ My voice comes out as a quick bark. He doesn't recognize me like this, I forgot that they've never seen my innocence before. He swings a huge hammer at me, nearly jacking me in the head. _He isn't going to be able to understand me like this. _I ram into him, pinning him on his back. He holds up the handle of his hammer, keeping it across his chest to protect himself. _I'm not going to hurt you._ I stand there over him, growling and whining. When I don't bite at him he stares at me confused.

"If you're gonna kill me, kill me." He says, glaring at me. I get off of him, allowing him to stand. In this form, I'm almost eye level with him, even on all fours. He stares at me angrily. I hadn't noticed, but he was clenching my exorcists coat in his free hand. _Why does he have that?_ "Do you recognize this?" He asks me, throwing the coat on the ground in front of me. I look at it confused. "What did you do with the exorcist who was wearing it?" He yells, gripping his hammer tightly. _He doesn't know it's me. Of course he doesn't. _

He runs at me again, swinging the hammer. I try my best to dodge his attacks but he's quicker than I expected. _The only way I'm going to show him it's me is if I change back._ My thoughts are interrupted when Lavi's hammer comes crashing to my side. I shoulder the blow, digging my paws into the ground to avoid being knocked over completely. He pushes harder, causing my paws to kick up dirt. As the hammer begins to push me away, my innocence deactivates and I'm human again, falling to the ground.

"Sage?" Lavi asks, his hammer shrinking down.

"Yea, that would be me." I say, lying flat on my back with dirt all over my pants and tank top.

"Holy...so you're the wolf?" He asks, helping me to my feet.

"Yea, that's my innocence, I didn't mean to scare you." I laugh, taking back my coat and putting it on. "So why did you come over here?"

"There wasn't anything on my side and then I saw that big flash of green light. I knew it had to be innocence. I guess it was yours." He explains.

We decide to split my section of the woods, separating ourselves yet again, but this time we stay closer to each other. After using my innocence, I'm so much more tired. As I wander around the woods I notice a strange fog rolling along on the ground.

I can hear someone moving around in front of me. I squint in the darkness until I can make out the figure in the dim moonlight. "Kanda-" I begin, but my mouth is quickly covered. Lavi pushes me up against a tree, a hand over my mouth, the other holding me against the thick trunk. "Shh, he's under the curse." Lavi whispers. Kanda walks past our tree, unable to see us in the shadows. Lavi lets me go once Kanda disappears into the darkness. "I'm gonna sneak around to try and grab him, you find the source of the fog, I think that's where the innocence will be." He tells me.

Lavi disappears like Kanda did and I leave the tree to venture into the fog. I can't see in this darkness and I walk straight into something all too familiar. "Kanda? I thought you-" Before I can finish my sentence, a hand shoots straight to my neck. "Kanda!" I grab at his arm, trying to push him away. He holds me up in the air, lifting me off my feet and over his head, squeezing my neck hard. He's so much stronger than me and I'm far too exhausted to free myself. I can't change back into my innocence again, not so soon after a transformation. He walks into the moonlight, still holding me up by the throat. I gasp for breath, beating at his arms. "Kanda!" I manage to spit out, but Kanda isn't there. The moonlight reveals his blank face, his eyes clouded over as if he isn't really seeing what's in front of him.

"That's enough from you." Lavi yells, tackling Kanda to the ground. As soon as Lavi brings him down, he releases his grip. I drop to my knees, gasping for air. "Shit." I say, finally catching my breath. I rub my neck gently, feeling it bruise already.

"You ok over there?" Lavi calls to me.

"Yea, is Kanda alright?" I ask him, getting up to my feet.

"Get off me you damn rabbit." Kanda's familiar voice growls.

"Yuuuuu!" Lavi mocks, grinning at the pissed off swordsman before receiving a harsh nock to the head.

I look past them and see the fog bubbling wildly in a small patch of moonlight. "Hey guys I think I found it." I say, walking over to it. Beneath the bubbling fog is a faint glow. I fan the fog away with my hand, revealing a small crystal rock, glowing with the light of innocence. "Hey that's it!" Lavi exclaims, running over. He picks up the crystal, analyzing it. "Yep its in there all right." He places the crystal on the ground and smashes it with his hammer. "Now we can take it back to headquarters." He says, picking up the innocence fragment that lays in the crumbled crystal. Kanda nods, taking the fragment from Lavi and placing it in his coat. "Let's get going, there's a train out of here in the morning." He tells us.

Lavi leads the way, walking in the direction of the town. I begin to follow, but I pause when I notice Kanda just standing there. He doesn't notice me stop, he just stares at my neck with a guilty look on his face. "Kanda." My voice brings him back to reality and he looks away, following behind me as I catch up to Lavi.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for this chapter, it definitely is not my best work. Sorry if it's a bit boring, I just wanted to develop the relationship between Kanda and Sage since she and Lavi already have a bit of a foundation. Let me know what you think in the reviews!**

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**Chapter 4**

When we get back to headquarters it's late in the afternoon and we're greeted by Komui and Lenalee. They commend our quick work and take the innocence down to Hevlaska. The three of us eat dinner together at the cafeteria and catch up with Allen. Lavi boasts to Kanda about seeing my innocence.

"You're just jealous because you missed the whole thing!" Lavi mocks.

"Shut up idiot." Kanda growls, smacking Lavi on the back of the head."

"Hey! That hurts!" He yells, rubbing his head.  
"Guys be nice! Besides, Kanda didn't miss much, I'm sure he'll have the chance to see my innocence soon enough." I explain, flicking them both in the forehead.

Kanda scoffs and Lavi smirks at my attempt at peace-keeping. I push my last empty plate away and stand up. "I'm gonna go wash up and get some sleep. I recommend you two do the same." Lavi nods in agreement, stretching in his chair. "Sleep tight Sage." He smiles. I nod and turn to leave. Kanda grabs my arm, preventing me from walking away. I look back at him, confused. "We train tomorrow, we need to strengthen your innocence." He tells me. "What? Strengthen it, why?" I ask him. He releases my arm and points to my neck, still covered by the collar of my exorcists coat. "Because if you had the energy to use it last night, you would've been able to stop me." He crosses his arms and looks away. I know he feels bad about it, so I try to comfort him. "It's really not that bad." I smile before leaving the cafeteria.

I walk into my room and don't bother turning the light on. My body aches from a long night of walking and fighting. I walk into the bathroom connected to my room and turn on the light. A mirror on the wall reveals my dirt covered face and messy hair. _Yikes. _I turn on the shower and begin to undress. When I take off my coat, I can see the dark bruises that wrap around my neck. I brush my fingers lightly against the black and blue marks. I flinch as they throb under my touch. Steam covers the mirror, taking away my reflection. I get into the shower and sit under the hot water, pulling my knees to my chest. I sit there until all the dirt washes away and the water turns cold, allowing my muscles to relax.

Clean and fed, I plop down onto my bed, my body ready for sleep. _I'm really gonna get it tonight. _I'm afraid to sleep, afraid of what waits for me in my dreams. I long for company, for Lavi to be here and comfort me with his voice and scent and touch. Or Kanda, to stay close and keep a watchful eye. I curl up into a ball and hug my pillow, staring straight ahead at the wall. My eyes fight to stay open, to avoid the inevitable sleep, but I can't hold out for long. My eyes flutter for a moment before they give way and I plunge into a deep sleep.

* * *

_The moon is full tonight and its blue glow lights the woods, playing on the thin fog in the air. I know this place and it is all too familiar. The cursed woods of Venice expand around me, the shadows of the trees adding an eerie darkness to the land. _

_I wander around the woods, in search of a way out. A figure walks through the darkness. "Kanda?" I'm cut off by another figure. Lavi pushes me up against a tree, covering my mouth. Kanda passes by as Lavi holds me against the trunk. _

_He looks different this way. His bandana is down around his neck, letting his crimson hair fall into his face. His emerald eye has a strange look in it and a devilish smile forms on his face. "Shh...he'll hear you." His voice sounds dangerous. I stare at him cautiously, pulling his hand away from my mouth."You're hurting me." He laughs cooly, taking his other hand off my arm. "I'll sneak up on him." He says before disappearing in a swirl of black mist. _

_I remember how it played out last time. I had walked into Kanda and had nearly been strangled to death. Instead of waiting around for Lavi or walking into Kanda, I try to get out. I know this is a dream and I need to wake myself up. I sit in a patch of moonlight and close my eyes._

_"Wake up. Come on, I know I'm dreaming." I tell myself. A low growl rumbles behind me. I turn, waiting to see the big black wolf that always haunts me. Instead of the black wolf, a wolf with dark eyes and fur with dark shades of blue stands behind me. "Kanda?" I ask. The wolf snarls at me, stepping closer. _

_Another wolf emerges from the darkness. It's fur is blood red and it's eyes glow green. "Lavi." It reacts to my voice, snapping at the air. _

_They jump at me, claws unsheathed and teeth bared. I kick off Lavi, sending him onto the ground. Kanda's jaws lock onto my arm, drawing blood as he thrashes around. I beat at his head, all he does is bite down harder. "Kanda stop!" I scream, panicking as the pain intenses. _

_I'm so focused on Kanda that I forget about Lavi. The blood red wolf comes charging back at me. I kick wildly in an attempt to keep him at bay, but he makes his way on top of me regardless. His heavy paws pin me down, his claws digging through my clothes and into my skin. _

_I thrash around in the dirt, screaming for them to get off. Kanda's words run through my head. "If you had the energy last night, you would've been able to stop me." Unable to release myself in this form, I attempt to activate. "Innocence, activate!" I scream. _

_Pain shoots through my entire body. I can feel myself changing, but I don't turn into a wolf. Lavi gets off of me and bites down on my other arm, holding me down like Kanda. My chest burns as if fire is eating it's way out. I look down at my stomach in horror as a black wolf begins to seep out of my body in a dark mist. I lose my voice, my screams can no longer escape my lungs. All I can do is watch and writhe as the beasts tear through me. Thunder cracks through the sky and shakes me. Lightning flashes in the darkness and I can see all the blood that covers me. It's a terrifying amount and I begin to feel myself slip. Another bolt of lightning shoots through the night, blinding me completely. _

* * *

My eyes fly open as the my bedroom fills with light. My body continues to shake, I look up to see Kanda standing over me. Thunder rumbles in the distance but it's Kanda that shakes me.

My body aches, but the pain begins to fade. "Kanda." I finally speak. He let's go of my arms, backing up a step. I jump out of my bed,feeling the need to get away from where I had been sleeping. Kanda watches me confused. I try to get to my window, to feel the cool air, but the burning in my chest flares when I move so suddenly and I drop.

Kanda catches me, crouching down to lower me to the floor. "What's wrong?" His voice is tense. I grip my chest and use Kanda's shoulder to stand myself up. "Nothing. I need to get to the window. I need some air." I tell him as I move over to the already open window.

I wait there for a moment, breathing in the cool air as a storm gently rolls in. Still out of breath, I wipe my hand across my face, covering it in sweat. "I thought you didn't wander into women's bedrooms in the middle of the night." I joke, leaning heavily onto the window, still clenching my chest.

Kanda walks over to me, still looking concerned. " You woke me up."

"Shit. I'm sorry. What time is it?" I ask him.

"Two in the morning. Did you know you're bleeding?"

I touch my face to find my nose bleeding. Kanda stares at the blood on my hand and I quickly wipe it onto my pants."Two in the morning huh?" I say, still out of breath. "When do you usually wake up?"

"Early." He says, now looking at my exposed neck.

"You can go back to sleep. I'm gonna stay up though." I tell him, unclenching my chest and sitting down against the wall. Kanda rolls his eyes and sits down in front of me. "Want some company?"

We sit on the floor for hours, talking here and there and spending time in silence. After a while I begin to doze off, slumping onto the floor. Half asleep, I mumble something to Kanda about not worrying about the bruises on my neck. I must really be out of it, because I don't even protest when he picks me up off of the floor and carries me back to my bed. He leaves my bedroom without a word, closing my door quietly so as not to wake me up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok guys here we go, I made this chapter a little longer since it seems like they've been getting shorter and shorter with each passing chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, as always let me know what you think, all suggestions are greatly appreciated ^.^**

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**Chapter 5**

When I wake, early morning light fills my room. I stretch out in my bed, remembering last night. It must be seven in the morning by now and Kanda will be wanting to train soon. I get up and ready myself for the day, washing my face, brushing my teeth, dressing myself and fixing my choppy hair. I open my bedroom door and walk out into the hallway.

"Rough night?" I turn to see Lavi waiting outside my door.

"What gave me away?" I laugh.

"Kanda." He grins, walking beside me. I blush lightly, scratching the back of my head.

"What did he say?"

"It's what he didn't say. He was up later than usual this morning."

"Oh god, that's my fault." I say, biting my lip.

"He woke you up didn't he?"

"Actually, I woke him up first." I tell him.

"Ahhh, so Yuu has a heart after all." Lavi says jokingly, a playful glint in his eye.

We go through our normal morning routine. Allen and I feast while Lavi chats with Lenalee. After breakfast Lavi leaves to go work with an old man he calls Bookman. Kanda is already at the training area by now, so once I've finished eating, I go down to meet him.

I walk into the training room and find Kanda standing in the back, wrapping his hands. "You're late." He says, without looking. I shrug, walking over to him. "You got up late too. What are we doing?" I ask. He finishes wrapping his hands and looks over at me. "You need to strengthen yourself. You can't endure your innocence for very long, so if we activate it continuously, you should build a tolerance to it." He explains. I pause, thinking about what he means. "So you want me to activate it?" I ask. He nods, stepping back and leaning against the wall. "On and off continuously." He adds.

I don't like the thought of it, but it might work. "Ok, lets get started." I say, taking off my exorcists coat and tying up my hair. I toss my coat over to Kanda and adjust my black tank top. "Innocence, activate!" As soon as the words come out, the innocence on my chest flashes and the pain comes. Bones pop, fur sprouts, pain surges through me. It takes a few moments for the change to complete. Once it's done, I balance myself out. _Kanda's never seen my innocence before. _When I look over at Kanda, he doesn't seem surprised by my form, he just nods his head and says "Again."

I do what he says, de-activating my innocence. I turn back into a human and lean over with my hands on my knees, catching my breath. "Don't take time to rest, activate it again." He tells me. I nod, standing up straight before activating my innocence and the whole process starts again. This time, it's harder.

We go on like this for hours, activating and de-activating my innocence until I can't do it anymore. I drop to my knees and gasp for air, completely exhausted. Kanda still sits against the wall, watching with keen eyes. "Again." He says. I just shake my head and lay on the ground, rolling onto my back and closing my eyes. I can hear Kanda stand and walk over to me. Something hard falls onto my stomach and I gasp, opening my eyes. Kanda stands over me and a canteen of water rests on my stomach. "Water break." He says, gesturing towards the canteen.

I lay there on the floor for a few minutes to catch my breath, before grabbing the canteen and pouring some of its water onto my face. I sigh in relief as the cold water cools down my sweating skin. The door to the training room opens and I hear a familiar laugh.

"What on earth have you been doin to this poor girl?" I look over to see Lavi walking over to us.

"Training." Kanda answers unapologetically.

"Well geez its been a few hours. How about you and I spar a bit, I've been cramped up in a study room with the old panda all day." Lavi tells him.

"I don't want to spar with you." Kanda scoffs.

"Awwww come on Yuu, just for a bit, while Sage is catching her breath. You don't mind, do ya Sage?" The emerald eyed exorcist looks to me with a playful look in his eye.

"Knock yourselves out." I tell him, getting up off of the ground and walking over to where Kanda had been sitting while I was training.

"Perfect! Let's go, unless you're afraid that I'll beat you up in front of a pretty girl." Lavi mocks. "You've got a loud mouth, you stupid rabbit. Hand to hand, no innocence." Kanda growls at him, setting Mugen aside.

I take a drink of water out of the canteen and watch the two exorcists. Lavi grins at Kanda's challenge, handing me his innocence. Both of them take off their exorcist coats, throwing them aside, leaving both of them bare chested. I look away awkwardly, a light blush on my cheeks. "What are you doing?" I say, still looking away.

"It's easier to fight hand to hand without our coats getting in the way." Lavi laughs, obviously amused by my response.

"Enough talking, get on with it." Kanda snaps at Lavi, annoyed.

I hear a clash and I look back to see the two exorcists attacking each other. They thrash around, throwing kicks and punches and dodging and blocking. It's hard to tell who is winning, both are so fast and very strong. With both men being the same age and virtually the same height, I can't tell who will have the upper hand. The fight is intriguing to watch, but I can't help myself from enjoying the view. Both men are very attractive and I find myself blushing again. _Get over yourself and try to learn something. _I dump the rest of the water over my head focus on the fight.

Kanda lands a hard hit to Lavi's face, knocking him over onto the ground. He throws his leg over Lavi, ready to strike it down and end the fight. Before he can finish the attack, Lavi grabs Kanda's leg and twists it away, knocking kanda to the ground. The blue haired exorcist growls, angered by the speed of his opponent. Lavi jumps up in a flash and lands a hit on Kanda, drawing blood. I flinch at the sight of it, I didn't think they would go all out on each other. Kanda kicks Lavi off, giving himself enough time to stand before Lavi comes back for more attacking. The two go at each other for what feels like half an hour. As time goes on, Kanda begins to fatigue, while Lavi maintains a ridiculous speed. _There's the advantage. Lavi is fast, even faster than Kanda. _Lavi grins, knowing he's winning the fight. It looks like the match is coming to an end when all of a sudden the situation flips. A devious smile curls up on Kanda's face as he ducks under Lavi's punch and sweeps Lavi's leg, knocking him flat on his back. Lavi attempts a counter attack, but Kanda expects it and effortlessly reversing it, inflicting the damage onto Lavi. _So that's Kanda's edge, experience. He's a far more experienced fighter than Lavi. _Kanda pins him down, planting a knee in Lavi's chest. He punches the ground next to Lavi's face, leaving an impressive dent in the floor, ending the match.

Kanda stands up, walking away from Lavi and wiping the blood off of his face. Lavi chuckles, brushing the dirt off of his chest.

"Not bad Yu, not bad at all." He says, standing up, rubbing his chest at the place where Kanda's knee had been.

"Of course it wasn't bad, idiot." Kanda scoffs, putting his exorcists coat back on.

"You cheat." Lavi mocks.

"What did you say?" Kanda growls, turning around to glare at Lavi.

"You heal fast. It's an unfair advantage."

"Of course it's an advantage, I'm superior to you." Kanda says, nonchalantly.

I walk over to Lavi and hand him his coat and hammer. He thanks me and puts them on. Kanda returns to his seat by the wall, turning his attention to me once more. "You ready to get back to it?" He asks. I sigh, reluctantly nodding. "Innocence. Activate." I grit my teeth as the process starts all over again. I switch in and out of forms for a good ten minutes before I can't continue. I stop, hunched over on the ground. Kanda stares at me for a moment.

"Why'd you stop." It sounds more like a statement rather than a question.

"I can't. I really can't." I tell him, completely out of breath and exhausted.

"You went for hours before." He says, unsympathetically.

"I've never done this so much in my life." I say defensively.

"It's gonna take longer than one day Kanda." Lavi tells him.

Kanda nods, easing up. "We'll continue tomorrow then." He says, leaving the training room. I sigh in relief, standing up on wobbly legs. Lavi holds my coat out for me, helping me slip into it. I wipe the sweat off of my brow and begin walking to the door. Lavi follows beside me, offering to help me stand. "Where you wanna go?" He asks. I can't decide what I want to do first, eat or shower. My stomach rumbles and I begin to think that eating might be a little more important, but the clothes sticking to my skin decide otherwise."I'm gonna go to my room and wash up. I'll meet you at the cafeteria for dinner later." I tell him. He nods and walks with me until I get to my room.

I spend a good amount of time in my room, showering, changing clothes and taking some time to read a book Lenalee lended to me. It's almost sundown by the time I walk down to the cafeteria. Lenalee, Lavi, Allen and Kanda are already sitting down together. I grab my own food before joining them at the table. Lavi pulls out a seat next to him, motioning for me to sit.

"Did you take a nap or somethin?" Lavi asks, poking the food on his plate with a chopstick.

"No, I didn't need one." I tell him, finally feeding my rumbling stomach.

"Yuu did, I think you threw off his sleep cycle." He laughs, finishing off his plate.

"Don't call me that!" Kanda growls, throwing an empty cup at Lavi.

"Oh, feisty!" Lavi mocks, dodging the cup.

"Ok guys, simmer down." I laugh, as Kanda scoffs at Lavi.

I sit at the table long after our dinner is over. By now it's nine o'clock in the evening and almost everyone is back in their rooms. Everyone at my table is still here, but they all look exhausted. Allen stares off into space, obviously dozing off.

"Are you guys gonna go to bed soon?" Lenalee asks us, yawning.

"I'm waiting on them." Lavi says, tipping back in his chair.

"Sage? What about you?" She asks.

"Huh? No no, I'm good here." I tell her.

"Suit yourselves, I'll see you tomorrow. Come on Allen." She says.

Lenalee gets up, grabbing Allen's arm and leading him out of the cafeteria. Once they leave, I face plant on the table, digging my face into my folded arms. I sigh loudly, feeling the tiredness creeping up on me. A hand rests on my back, helping to wake me up a bit.

"Why are you trying so hard not to sleep?" Lavi asks.

"Oh no reason." My voice is mildly smothered by my arms, so I lift my head up. "I'm just not tired"

"Really? Cause you look like you're about to pass out." Lavi chuckles.

"She's afraid to go to sleep, it's obvious." Kanda says. I thought he was sleeping, but he was just sitting back in his chair, arms crossed, opening one eye to glare at Lavi as he speaks.

"Is that true?" Lavi asks.

"Eh…" I shrug at him.

"Very unconvincing." Kanda says, closing his eye again.

"Why don't you tell us why you're so scared." Lavi suggests.

I sigh, resting my chin on my forearms. "Well, I always have nightmares, they're just...worse after I use my innocence."

"I thought innocence was suppose to protect its user, not hurt them." Lavi says.

"Yea, well...we have a love-hate relationship." I admit.

"Are your sure it's worse after you use your innocence." He asks.

"Yea, I'm positive. Which is why I'm scared for tonight. After activating my innocence so much today, tonight is going to be…" I pause, lost in thought about what sleep might bring.

"Hell." Kanda finishes for me. I sigh, blinking in agreement.

"Well looks like we're gonna have to be extra careful tonight." Lavi says, standing up suddenly.

"What does that mean?" I ask him, looking up.

"It means Kanda and I are gonna stay up with you and try to keep those nightmare away." Lavi grins. "Aint that right Kanda?" Kanda huffs and stands stands, ignoring Lavi completely. "Let's go." He says, walking past both of us.

We get to my room and I don't bother turning the lights on. The light from the moon coming through my window is bright enough for me. Kanda walks over to the window and leans against the wall and Lavi sits on my bed. I look at them, flattered but confused.

"So what are you guys gonna do?" I ask.

"Keep watch I guess, wait until you fall asleep and wake you up if you start freaking out." Lavi smiles. I nod, sitting up against the door. The moonlight glistens on the chain around my neck, catching my eye. I grab onto it for a moment and rub its metal links with my fingers. Lavi looks over at me.

"What's that?" He asks.

"Ah just some chain I always wear." I tell him. I laugh a little to myself, remembering the story behind it. "My master gave it to me." I add.

"That's an interesting gift." Lavi muses.

"Yea it is, she use to use it on me back when I was first learning how to use my innocence."

"She?!" Lavi jumps up surprised.

"Yea, my mentor was General Nine. Since I'm from America and she was in America at the time, she took me up as her apprentice." I explain.

"I never knew Nine had any apprentices." He says, looking baffled.

"Of course she did, she's a general." I laugh.

We spend a few hours just talking on and off until the chatter dies down and everyone feels the heavy burden of sleep. Lavi sits hunched over on my bed, finally asleep. I struggle to stay awake, fueling myself with the fear of what sleep may bring. In an attempt to distract myself, I look over at Kanda. He's still sitting against the wall, but he isn't sleeping, he's watching me, like a hawk. It makes me feel safer, knowing that he's there and I find myself passing out.

The moment my eyes close and my mind falls asleep, it strikes me. The nightmares don't hesitate to attack me. Instead of starting me off in a field or in woods, I'm greeted with a deafening snarl. I'm in a dark place and all I can feel is a quick flash of pain. I'm still awake enough to pull myself out of it and my head snaps up, my eyes shooting open. I shake my head but I can't get rid of the sleepy feeling that continues to wash over me. Kanda is on his feet already, looking over at me concerned. Lavi is up too, sitting up straighter and looking over at me with the same look as Kanda.

"Nope." I say, shaking my head.

"It's ok." Lavi says, getting up and walking over to me.

"I'm never going to be able to sleep again, it's so mad at me." I tell them. The intensity of the brief nightmare and the unbearable exhaustion gets the better of me. My eyes sting as tears well up and begin to stream down my face.

"Hey, come on it's gonna be ok." He tells me.

"I can't go back to sleep." I repeat.

"Come on, I'll help you." He says, helping me up and leading me over to my bed.

I lay down hesitantly, embarrassed by my tears. He lays down next to me, I would usually resist this sort of thing but all I want at the moment is comfort. I curl up into a ball and try to control myself. Lavi pulls me into him so that my head is just under his chin. "What are you doing?" I ask him. "You can go to sleep now and if anything happens, I'll be here to wake you up immediately." He tells me. I can't deny his offer and the circumstances are just too tempting. His voice is so calming and his arms around me are so comforting. I grip the collar of his shirt and burry my face in his chest. He still smells like a woodsey smoke and it puts me at ease. I try to match my breathing with his, to calm myself. Light from the hall creeps into my room as the door opens. I look over to see Kanda walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" I ask him.

"There's no point in both of us being in here." Kanda says without turning around.

"Kanda."

"Lavi's got you covered." His words are almost stern.

"But-"

"We train again tomorrow." He begins to close the door behind him.

"Kanda."

"What?"

"Good night…"

"Get some sleep." He sighs, his voice softening.

Kanda leaves and closes the door, leaving me with Lavi. I return to how I was before, trusting what Lavi had told me. The window lets in a cool night breeze that chills the room. I try to stay awake a little longer, but Lavi's body is so warm and his familiar smokey smell is so comforting, that I can't resist it any longer and I fall asleep.

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**Ok so there's that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I did not read it over before posting it, so hopefully there aren't any mistakes. (I literally finished it at 2:25am because why not). I'll work on CH6 very soon ^.^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok guys I've got lots of ideas brewing for this story so now it's just a matter of time and chapters! Please leave reviews to let me know how you like the story and anything you think I could add to make the story better or any twists you think that could be really interesting. Thanks for reading! ^.^**

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**Chapter 6**

As I fall asleep, my dreams do not attack me like they did before. Instead, I sleep fairly soundly for what must be at least a few hours. After a while, nightmares begin to creep their way back into my mind. Darkness begins to surround me again and I can feel the piercing eyes of the wolf at my back. Terror wells up inside of me once more as I feel myself losing my peaceful sleep. I stir, trying to fight off the inevitable, but it's no use and I'm sucked into the fear.

I only spend a moment in panic before I'm pulled out. My restless body is squeezed tightly in a warm embrace, bringing me out of the dream state and into a softer consciousness. It's not enough to wake me up, but I know what's going on. Lavi's arms pull me closer into him and I can hear the gentle rumble of his voice, lulling me back into a peaceful sleep.

I wake slowly, still curled up in a ball. I take in a deep breath and smile as I'm greeted by the smoky scent that I identify as Lavi's. My eyes flutter open to find an empty room. My bed is empty and instead of snuggling into Lavi, I find myself nuzzled into a big orange scarf.

Judging by the light in the room, I can tell that I slept in. _Shit, I'm gonna be late._ With a sudden burst of energy, I jump out of my bed and clean myself up before slipping into my exorcists coat. Snatching the orange scarf off of my bed, I run out the door.

A hand grabs my arm and spins me around, bringing my face right up to Lavi's. "I see you found my scarf." He says, grinning as my cheeks flush with embarrassment. He holds me there for a second, our faces dangerously close, him leaning down so that his emerald eye can meet my teal ones. They stare mischieviously, making my heart race.

He laughs, letting go of my arm and stepping back. I hand him his scarf, willing away the pink in my cheeks. He stands there for a moment before resting an arm around my shoulder and walking us down to the cafeteria. I roll up his scarf and hand it to him.

"I don't know how you did it Lavi, but I didn't have any nightmares last night." I tell him.

"See what'd I tell ya?" He grins, obviously feeling rather triumphant.

"When did you leave?" I ask, remembering how I'd woken up alone.

"I woke up sometime in the early morning and figured you would probably be ok for the rest of your sleep. I didn't want the old panda to find me coming out of a girls room in the morning, so I snuck back to my place." He explains

"Who's the old panda?"

"You've never seen him? Lucky, he's my mentor."

"You don't have a general as a mentor?" I ask, confused.

"Nope, I'm from the bookman clan, so I'm not exactly like all you exorcists." He grins smugly.

"You're still an exorcist." I tell him, pointing to his innocence.

He gets an odd look on his face when I say that to him. It's a mix of guilt and something else that I can't quite identify. I drop the topic, not wanting to stir up any sore feelings that Lavi may have.

He's fairly quiet during breakfast and I wonder if he's mad at me for something I said earlier. A short old man with dark makeup around his eyes walks into the cafeteria. He makes his way over to our table and greets everyone politely before turning to Lavi.

"Junior, I need you for an errand." The old man says.

"Right now?" Lavi asks, leaning back in his chair.

"Don't be a brat, we have lots to get done!" He scolds.

"Alright, alright, calm down gramps. What's the occasion?" Lavi mocks.

"The generals are coming to headquarters today and we have preparations in order." The old man explains.

Lavi nods, getting up from his chair. "I'll see you later Sage, don't let Kanda beat you up today." He tells me, getting up to leave. _Crap. Kanda!_ I jump out of my chair, remembering that I should be training already. "I won't if he doesn't kill me on the spot!" I squeak, running past Lavi and the old man.

When I finally get to the training room, Kanda is sitting against the wall where he had been yesterday. He looks up at me, amused by my frazzled appearance. I walk over to him, taking off my exorcists coat. "I know, I know, I'm late." I say. Kanda just smirks and gestures for me to begin.

My body is sore from yesterdays training, but it is a little easier today. After so many transformations and a night of good rest, I'm able to keep up with Kanda's intended pace. The changes hurt a little less every time until eventually I'm numbed to it.

I carry on much longer than I had yesterday. We spend hours upon hours with non stop activation and de-activation until Kanda finally stops me. I admit that I pushed myself harder today because I felt guilty for both making him stay up last night and wait this morning, but he seems pleased. He tosses me a canteen of water and I accept it happily. I hadn't noticed before, but now I can see a dark tattoo stretching across Kanda's shoulder.

"What's that?" I ask, pointing at the tattoo. Kanda hesitates, then opens his mouth to speak. Before he can get a word out, Allen comes bursting into the training room.

"Guys, the generals are here, Komui wants everyone to come and meet up with their mentors."

"You look like you're about to piss yourself beansprout." Kanda teases.

"My name is Allen! And that would be because my master is here too." He explains, color draining from his face.

"Who's your master?" I ask.

"General cross." Allen says, covering his face with his hands. "By the way Kanda, Tiedoll is looking for you."

Kanda winces, aggravated by the news. He crosses his arms, unwilling to move. I laugh lightly and grab his arm, pulling him towards the door. "Oh come on Kanda." I say. He looks at me surprised. _I guess people don't really touch Kanda so casually._ I smile at him and he reluctantly follows me out, allowing me to lead him by his arm.

We arrive at a large living room to find a mix of generals and exorcists. I release Kanda's arm and he eyes me amused. "Kanda!" A voice booms and Kanda is attacked by a tall man with glasses and messy hair. He wraps his arms around Kanda, balling his eyes out. The blue-haired exorcist struggles for a moment before freeing himself from the old man's death grip. "I swear you get more and more grown up every time I see you." The man says, wiping his eyes. Kanda scoffs, ignoring the compliment.

The man shifts his attention to me, a warm smile on his face. "I'm sorry, are you a new exorcist? I'm general Tiedoll."

"I'm Sage, it's nice to finally meet another general." I smile.

He pauses for a moment, looking at Kanda and then me. A wide smile spreads across his face and his eyes light up. "Kanda-kun! Is this beautiful young lady your girlfriend!?" I gawk at him awkwardly, not sure how to respond. Kanda growls at Tiedoll, his face pink with frustration and embarrassment. "She's not my girlfriend." Tiedoll frowns, as if his hopes had just been crushed.

I search the room with my eyes, Lavi is nowhere to be found. "Hey Kanda, I'll meet up with you later." I tell him. He nods and watches as I walk off.

I make my way through the sea of people, searching for my master and any sign of Lavi. Tired of all the bodies, I make my way to a corner in the room. _I hate these sort of gatherings, too many people. _I slink back against the corner wall and sigh. "I need to get out of this place."

"You're telling me." A soft voice next to me says. Surprised, I turn to see a blonde haired beauty standing beside me.

"Klaud!" I yell excitedly, not hesitating to wrap my arms around her and shove my face into her shoulder.

"I missed you too, little pup." She says, hugging me back.

I feel something crawl onto my shoulders and I take a step back. Pulling my hair to one side, I can see the small white monkey resting on my shoulder. "Lau Jimin!" I greet him. The beast nuzzles against my cheek, cooing loudly.

"He missed his friend." Klaud tells me.

"I missed him too."

"Come, the generals are retiring to a more private room and we're bringing only our favorite apprentices." She tells me, smiling. I nod and follow her.

We enter a room towards the top of the castle. It's a large room with couches in the center and lots of windows with an open balcony, letting cool wind wash through the room. General Cross sits on one of the couches with his legs crossed, sipping a glass of red wine. General Tiedoll sits across from him, with Kanda standing close behind. A table covered with food catches my eye, but General Socalo occupies it completely, deterring my interest. Klaud leads me over to the sitting area and greets the other generals.

"Good evening Tiedoll...Cross." She says, hardly paying attention to the red-haired general.

"Don't get sassy Nine, you know you're pleased to see me." Cross says, grinning.

"Oh it's always a pleasure." She says sarcastically.

"Who is this foxy little exorcist, is she yours?" He asks, looking me up and down.

I suddenly feel so exposed, realizing that I had forgotten to put my exorcists coat back on after training with Kanda. Now my tank top feels like far too little clothing in the presence of the General Cross. Klaud rolls her eyes at him. "Of course she's mine, her name is Sage." Cross just nods, continuing to watch me. Feeling terribly uncomfortable, I take a step back, only to back into a solid figure. I look up to find Kanda standing behind me, glaring at Cross.

"I see you've got yourself a guard dog." Cross muses. Kanda growls.

"Ignore him, he's useless." Klaud says, taking a seat on one of the couches.

"Well, don't be shy, come take a seat." He says, patting the cushion next to him. I look back at Kanda, who keeps his eyes fixed on Cross, before sitting down next to the red-haired general.

"Down boy." Cross teases, gesturing for Kanda to leave.

"Che." Kanda scoffs, sitting down next to Tiedoll.

Cross grins, sipping his wine and stretching an arm out along the top of the couch, his hand resting just below my shoulder. "So tell me, where have you been hiding all this time." He asks.

"I haven't been hiding. I arrived at headquarters a few weeks ago." I tell him.

"There aren't many women here. Surely you have a boyfriend by now." He inquires.

"No actually, it's pretty busy here." I explain.

"Really? Well, isn't that interesting." He grins.

"I...I guess?"

"How's your battle ability? I'm an excellent teacher you know." He tells me, a devious look in his eyes.

"Well actually I've been training with Kanda." I explain pointing to the glaring exorcist.

"Have you now?"

"...yes?" He stares at me, making me uneasy.

I almost flinch when he puts down his wine glass to tip my chin up so that our eyes meet.

"You really are very beautiful." He says in a low voice.

"Thank you." I say, involuntarily blushing. His eyes have a lustful glint and he won't let me look away. _What is that face? _His hand that rests by my shoulder tightens, pulling me a little closer to him. _What is he doing? He's a general, I can't be rude to him...but._

The awkward trance is broken when my exorcists coat is thrown onto the general, draping over his head. Someone jumps onto the couch, sitting on my other side. I can feel Cross's arm being pushed away as another arm forces its way around my shoulders. It pulls me away from Cross and into someone else. I look behind me to find Lavi, glaring at Cross.

"You left your coat in the training room, I thought you might want it." He says.

"Lavi, when did you get here? I ask, taking my coat off of Cross's head.

"Just in time apparently." He grins.

"Why you little pest…" Cross growls, glaring at Lavi and smoothing out his hair. "I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend."

"I don't." I tell him, confused.

"You have two." He chuckles, gesturing towards Lavi and Kanda.

I look over to where Kanda had been sitting, to find him standing up, tensed and agitated, his eyes boring into Cross. Klaud laughs, watching the situation unfold. "Don't even bother Marian, she's just like me."

"But you're the best kind." He teases, getting up from his seat and moving over to the balcony.

Klaud leans back in her seat, amused by Cross's failure. Lau Jimin rests in her lap as she strokes his fur. "Now that we have introductions out of the way, I have lots to tell you." She says, a serious look forming on her face. "Things are about to change for you, little pup."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again! Sorry it took so long for me to update the story, I've been very busy lately. I hope you all enjoy the chapter, please leave a review to let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys! ^.^**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

I face her, confused by her suddenly serious tone."Good or bad?" I ask, sitting up. She looks down at Lau Jimin, petting him slowly. "That all depends. I was back in America for a while, searching for new apostles. During my stay, I came across an accommodator quite similar to you. He was a young boy, a parasitic type. His innocence was very similar to yours, but instead of completely changing into another creature, he was only able to take up the characteristics of certain creatures."

"Well that's great, where is he?" I ask, interested.

"He's dead." She says, looking back up at me. I flinch.

"What happened?"

"You are aware that parasitic types have short lives, but for that boy in particular it seemed that his innocence was just too strong for him. I only had him for a few weeks before his innocence drained his life force completely. He became weaker and weaker every time he activated his innocence." She explains.

"Hey wait a second. We've been activating her innocence constantly the past two days." Lavi says, looking over at Kanda, worried.

My master looks me over, eyeing the glowing innocence on my chest. She looks a little concerned, but she sighs and smiles. "It's alright, I think she'll be fine. The boy was a rare case, I just thought I'd inform you." I sigh in relief, but her words don't ease Lavi or Kanda's worry. A ping of guilt spreads onto Kanda's face.

"Is there anything we should do? Anything we need to watch out for?" Lavi asks.

"I'm going to talk with Komui later, but I don't think you have to worry." She assures him.

"Well how do we know that the boy was a fluke?" He continues.

"Lavi, if we find something, I promise you will be the first to know."

"But should we stop the training? I mean is it dangerous?"

"Lavi. It's alright, I'm not fragile, I'm not going to break." I laugh lightly, patting Lavi's leg.

He nods, calming down a bit, but his face never loses the pained look. I look over at Kanda who still sits like a statue next to Tiedoll. Klaud smiles at me, trying to lighten the mood. "Aside from all that, I just want to tell you that things will be changing for you, because the Noah have become very active lately. We can hardly afford to spread our exorcists any thinner, but you will have to travel in groups in order to prevent any losses. You will all need to be very careful." She explains.

"Perfect." Kanda mumbles.

"Everything will be fine." Klaud says, standing up. "The generals need to talk alone now if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not. Kanda, Lavi, come on." I say, getting up and walking over to the door.

I pause to wait for Kanda and Lavi. Kanda says goodbye to Tiedoll and catches up to me. "I'll meet you at the training room." I tell him. He nods and walks past me, out the door and down the hall. I look back towards the couches to see Lavi standing in front of General Nine. My ears perk up a bit so that I can hear what they're whispering about.

"General, please. She has nightmares, it's like her innocence is working against her." Lavi says.

"I know, she's always had them, but it isn't something to worry about." Klaud tells him.

"General Nine."

"At ease soldier. You're rather passionate for a future bookman. As far as we can tell, she is at no more risk than General Cross's apprentice. I don't know what else to tell you." She insists.

"Yes ma'am." Lavi sighs, finally giving up and walking over to me.

The whole way down to the training room, Lavi is silent, deep in thought. His face is troubled and he doesn't notice where we are going. When we arrive at the training room, Kanda is standing against the door. Lavi looks up and stops short, grabbing my arm in protest.

"You can't be serious right now! What did General Nine just say!?" Lavi yells, frustrated.

"She said not to worry and that everything would be fine." I tell him, surprised by his outburst.

"She just explained to us how a 'very similar' exorcist died from his innocence and how he got weaker and weaker everytime he activated." He continues.

"That doesn't mean anything to me!" I yell, getting defensive.

"Yes it does! Now you want to go and activate over and over again until you end up the same!?"

"Lavi! If I can't activate my innocence then what's the point in being an exorcist!?" I feel bad yelling at him, but I can't take him treating me like a child.

The look on his face makes my heart drop. He looks like he's all torn up inside, like I've finally struck a nerve in him. I want to apologize, but I'm too agitated. "I'm not wrong." I tell him, my voice gentle, in an attempt to calm him down. He exhales loudly, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll kill you if are." He jokes. I smile at him, relieved by his change of attitude. "Come on Kanda." I say, grabbing Kanda's sleeve and leading him into the training room. He huffs but doesn't resist, probably amused by my passive yet pushy tendencies.

* * *

We lay sprawled out in a common area, exhausted from hours of training. A week has passed since the generals arrived at the order and the excitement has died down. Even though we have been training intensely, I haven't had a nightmare all week. Every night, Lavi stays with me, holding me until the early hours of the morning. Lavi and Kanda's suspicion about my innocence has finally subsided, even though they still insist that I take it easy with the activations.

I lay stretched out on a couch with my legs draped over Kanda's lap. Lavi sits on the floor with his back to the couch, his arms outstretched and his head against my hip. The warm and muggy air drains the energy out of us as we laze around.

"I hate this weather." I complain.

"What, you don't like the heat?" Lavi teases, looking up at me with playful eyes.

"Not this kind." I mumble, messing up his hair with my hand.

"Hey!" He laughs, fixing his bandana.

We look up lazily as Komui enters the common area. He has a perplexed look on his face as he focuses on a book in his hands. Oblivious to our presence, he walks past the couch, nearly walking over Lavi. He stops for a moment before backing up so that he is right in front of us. Looking up from his papers, he looks us over carefully.

"Kanda…Lavi….Sage. Why aren't you on your mission?" He asks suspiciously.

"Our...mission?" Lavi asks confused.

"We don't have a mission." Kanda growls.

"Yes you do, you're suppose to be halfway to China by now!" Komui insists.

"Komui you never told us about any missions." I tell him, confused as all hell.

"Why yes I did but-Oh!" He pauses, his eyes gleaming in remembrance. "Ah yes, it must have slipped my mind!"

"You've got to be joking." Kanda growls, growing more and more irritated.

"China! Multiple akuma sightings, possible innocence involvement...well? Get going!" Komui yells with a triumphant finger in the air.

"You're kidding." I complain, throwing my head back in protest.

Komui continues on past us, his head buried back into his papers. I sigh, unwilling to move in this terrible heat. We all lay there for a moment, in complete silence, waiting for someone to make the first move. Then I can feel Kanda moving under my legs, standing himself up, allowing my legs to slide onto the floor.

"Come on, we should get going." He sighs. I stay in that uncomfortable position for a minute, procrastinating as long as I can. Finally, I sigh in defeat and sit up.

"But China is so far." I say, forcing myself off of the couch.

Kanda smirks, rolling his eyes at my unusual behavior. I tug on Lavi's coat, pulling him upwards. He breathes heavily, clearly not wanting to move, but he gets up and follows Kanda and I as we walk out of the common area.

We don't bother gathering up any items for the trip, instead we just head straight for the train station. Komui left us with hardly any information on the mission, so once we board the train, Kanda uses his golem to contact headquarters for details. Meanwhile, Lavi opens the windows in our cabin, attempting to ease the intense summer heat. By the time the train starts moving, Kanda finishes his call with HQ.

"There will be a finder waiting for us once we arrive and luckily, he has transportation and money arrangements already in order for us." Kanda informs us.

"That's a relief, I don't think any of us brought money." Lavi says, checking his pockets.

"There is a catch to this trip." Kanda continues, looking over at me.

"What?" I ask, concerned by his amused look.

"In the area we're going, the townspeople are very paranoid about females due to a new found superstition."

"Oh? So what does that mean for me?" I ask.

"They're only expecting two male exorcists to investigate the town. Well...two male exorcists and…"

"And what? Spit it out Kanda!"

"And a rather large guard dog. You know, to help sniff out the akuma." He tells me, an evil grin spreading across his face.

My heart drops as I realize that I'm going to be spending the entire trip as a glorified dog. Lavi and Kanda make no attempt to hide their amusement at my ordeal. Lavi laughs loudly, rolling in his seat. Kanda watches my displeased expression with an annoyingly good mood.

"It's not that funny!" I yell, flicking Lavi on his forehead.

"Kanda! Kanda! We need to get this girl a pet name!" He laughs.

"Oh my god, no you don't!" I scold.

"Hmmm...how about Fifi or Rover?" He jokes.

"Ugh you both suck. It's too hot for this anyway." I hiss, turning away from them and staring out the cabin window.

Lavi jokes on a bit longer before Kanda finally gets annoyed and smacks him on the back of his head. The red-head rubs his wound and mopes, leaning away from Kanda while the agitated swordsman turns to the window, tuning out his surroundings.

"What about Spot?" Lavi asks with a mischievous tone. My eye twitches with frustration and I can feel my hair prick. I take a deep breath before turning to him. He lifts an eyebrow, daring me to combat him. In one swift movement I unzip my boot, quickly pulling it off and throwing it at Lavi. He throws his hands up, catching my boot and letting out a little laughter. I turn back to the window, a satisfied grin on my face. "Shut up rabbit."


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok guys so this might be the last chapter for a week or so, as I am going to be in CHINA (whoot whoot) and I might not have access to a computer. If I can find a way to write, I will. Please leave a comment or PM me to let me know how you like the story and if there is anything you think I could do to make the story better. Thanks for reading ^.^**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"Guys, seriously, this is ridiculous." I protest, crossing my arms.

"Come on Sage, we told you this was gonna have to happen." Lavi says, grinning.

"We're wasting time, just hand it over." Kanda says impatiently.

"Fine." I sigh, reluctantly taking off my exorcist coat and handing it over to him.

"It's only while we're in public, now hurry up so we can enter the town." He says.

I grit my teeth in annoyance, but I do what he says. "Activate." I say the words and the transformation begins. After so much practice, it's almost painless now and the change happens so quickly that it's nearly over by the time the flash of green light is gone.

"Hey there Fito!" Lavi laughs, patting my head. I shoot him a piercing glare, growling at him aggressively.

"There's one more thing…" Kanda says, kneeling down in front of me.

_What now?_ I whimper, watching him cautiously. In wolf form, I'm at eye level with Kanda when he kneels. He pulls a chain link leash out of his coat, presenting it before me. _Where the hell has he been hiding that!?_ I lifts the end that has a latch up towards my neck. I whine, backing up a few steps. Kanda grabs hold of the chain necklace that still rests around my neck and pulls me back towards him.

"We have to be convincing." He says, hooking the leash to the chain around my neck. I growl slightly, looking down and away from Kanda.

"Aw come on, you said your master use to do this to you when you were learning to control your innocence. This won't be anything you haven't done before." Lavi smiles.

I huff and shake out my fur, settling into my new body for the next few days. The chain weighs a bit heavy on my neck, but I know that I will grow use to it soon enough. Kanda stands back up, holding the other end of the leash in his hand. "Let's go." He says, leading the way into town.

"I promise I won't call you Fito or Spot, but we seriously need a fake name for you. Sage is too much of a human name." Lavi says, walking on my other side so that I separate him and Kanda.

"We'll figure it out as we go along." Kanda tells us.

* * *

We make our way through the town, walking through the crowded streets. I get some strange glances from the civilians, probably because they have never seen such a large dog. _Where are all the women? I only see men here._

My thoughts are interrupted by an abrupt tug on my tail. Growling, I spin around to find a little boy yanking on my tail. I stop growling when I realize that he is only a child. The boy can't be more than a few years old and he is barely as tall as my forearm. I cock my head to the side , feeling the collar tighten around my neck as Kanda keeps walking.

The boy releases my tail and walks over to my face. I tug back at the leash and Kanda stops, turning around.

"What is it now-" Kanda is cut off by the child standing in front of me.

"Doggy!" The boy coos, reaching up towards my head.

"Hey Kanda look! It's a little kid." Lavi says, walking over to us.

"We don't have time for this." Kanda sighs impatiently.

He tugs at the leash, trying to get me to go again, but instead, I ignore him and lower my head so that the I am eye level with the boy. His eyes brighten and he reaches out, grabbing a hold of my ears and pulling them. I yelp at the unexpected pull, but I don't move away. Instead I bump the childs head gently with my nose.

"Doggy!" The boy squeales excitedly, grabbing onto my head and hugging it. Kanda growls impatiently, but Lavi just kneels next to me.

"She's a pretty doggy huh?" He smiles, petting the fur on my neck.

The boy giggles and releases me, nodding at Lavi. A man's voice calls out to the child from across the street. I nudge the boy with my muzzle and he runs off toward the voice.

"Bye, bye doggy!" He waves as he disappears into the street crowd.

"Well aren't you gettin all sentimental." Lavi says, still petting my neck.

"For the love of God can we just get to the damn hotel and meet up with our finder." Kanda snaps at us.

"Alright! Alright! Don't freak out." Lavi laughs, standing up and walking past Kanda.

"Baka usagi…" Kanda mutters under his breath.

I give him an odd look, I've never heard him speak japanese before. He looks down at me, raising an eyebrow at my surprised expression. _Bilingual? _A low rumble sounds deep in my throat. Kanda grins, amused by my little noises. He tugs lightly at the leash, leading me to follow Lavi.

* * *

We walk up to the front doors of a small hotel. A finder stands by the entrance, several armed men stand around him, talking casually. The finder waves at us and the men turn to greet Kanda and Lavi. I sit down in between my exorcist companions and look up at the armed men.

"You must be the exorcists from the Black Order." One of the men says.

"That's right, I'm Lavi and this is Kanda." Lavi says, gesturing towards the blue-haired exorcist.

"Pleasure to meet you." The man says.

"Woah! Is that the guard dog?" Another man asks, staring down at me.

"Huh?" Lavi scratches the back of his head. "Uhhh yea, this is…"

"Blue." Kanda says in a bored tone.

I look up at Kanda, flicking my tail. The man who spotted me first continues to stare. He leans in real close to me and grabs my muzzle. I jolt back confused, but the man holds on tight. He prys my mouth open and gawks at my teeth. I growl in protest, shaking my head around in an attempt to release myself.

"Hey!" Lavi exclaims as I free myself from the man's grip. "What's the big idea?"

"This don't look like no dog to me." The man growls.

"And what the hell do you think she is?" Lavi argues.

"She!? It's some kind of demon dog isn't it!?"

"Don't be ridiculous, she's a specially bred wolf." Kanda explains.

"More like a wolf and a half." The man speculates aggressively.

"Well she is specially trained to hunt and track akuma so perhaps you should be a little more grateful of her size." Kanda growls.

The finder walks between the group of armed men and the three of us. In an attempt to calm things down, he opens the door to the hotel and invites us inside.

"I'm sure everyone will be satisfied when it's all said and done. Now, master exorcists, please make yourselves at home while these kind gentlemen show me the hotspots for unusual activity in the town." The finder says.

Lavi nods and enters the hotel. Kanda follows after him, but one of the men grabs ahold of my leash when he notices me making my way inside.

"Hey! You can't bring that thing in there!" The man grabbing my chain yells.

"What now?" Lavi asks, turning around to see what the commotion is.

I yelp when the chain around my neck tightens as the man tries to pull me back. Kanda's hand clenches my leash. He spins around and punches the man square in the jaw. I look back between Kanda and the man sprawled out on the ground behind me.

Kanda stares down at the man for a moment before turning back around and walking into the hotel, still clenching my leash. I follow him, a bit weary of his aggressive outburst. Lavi gets the key to our room we make our way through the hotel and up to its third level.

We find our room and make our way inside. I look around and notice that there are only two beds. Kanda unlatches the leash from my chain necklace and lets it fall to the floor. Lavi jumps onto one of the beds and stretches out, sighing loudly. Kanda sits on the one on the opposite side of the room.

The calm and silence of the bedroom brings a wave of sleep over me. I crawl into the bed that Lavi occupies, curling up into a ball beside him. _Innocence. _A quick flash and my body changes back to its human form.

"Well hey there Blue." Lavi says, peering at me with sleepy eyes.

"Hi." I laugh tiredly. "Hey Kanda, where did Blue come from?"

"Hm? Just a random name. Get some rest." Kanda says before turning over and facing the wall.

"You're probably pretty tired after activating for that long, huh?" Lavi asks.

I nod, grabbing onto his arm and cuddling closer. He grins, turning over to wrap an arm around me. "Not looking forward to another day of ear pulling and tail grabbing." I mumble. Lavi laughs lightly. "It's better than being discovered and executed." _Thanks Lavi. Oh so comforting._ I squeeze his arm a little tighter and quickly fall asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I'm finally back from China ^.^ Sorry its been so long. I'm going to try to bang out a few chapters to make up for lost time, I hope you enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 9**

The hot sun beats down on the city, the air thick and warm with humidity. I pant beside Kanda, who sits down on a dirty door step. The dark haired exorcist squints in the sunlight, slouching over in the summer weather.

"I bet that thick black fur is really convenient right now." Kanda teases.

_Yea and I bet you're loving your long dark hair right now too. _I huff.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess you made some sassy remark." He grins.

_You're damn right I did._ I growl slightly, nudging his hand with my nose.

Three men walk up to us. I recognize the one in front as the man that Kanda punched in the face yesterday. A dark bruise covers his cheekbone and an unhappy expression rests upon his face. Kanda looks up at him unimpressed.

"You exorcists haven't done anything to hunt the Akuma all day!" The man complains angrily.

"Yeah, when the hell are you guys gonna do your jobs?" Another joins in.

"Hey are you listening to us!?" The third barks.

"Unfortunately." Kanda sighs.

The man from yesterday clenches his fists and takes a step closer. Kanda leans back calmly, taking the hand closest to me and petting the thick fur on the back of my neck.

"You're suppose to be taking care of the Akuma!" The man yells.

"I don't see any Akuma wondering around here. Besides, we're waiting for the finder to come back with more information" Kanda says.

"Don't be so smug exorcists! I could do a better job than you." He growls.

Kanda clenches a handful of my fur, tensing up at the mans words. I stand up, responding to Kanda's sudden change in behavior. The men close in on us, cracking their knuckles and preparing for a fight. Kanda releases my fur, beginning to stand.

"Come on boys lets teach this guy a lesson." The bruised man says.

"Poor choice." Kanda mumbles.

I walk in front of Kanda, growling and baring my teeth at the men. Two of them hesitate when they get a look at my fangs, but the bruised man reaches out a hand, grabbing for Kanda. I snap at his hand violently, drawing blood.

"Hey!" He screams, pulling his hand back.

"Take care of that mutt!" The others yell, infuriated by my outburst.

The man that I bit lifts his bloody hand and swings it at me hard. Before it can hit me, it's blocked by Kanda's forearm. He glares at the man and pulls him forward and into the wall.

"Idiot." Kanda growls. "Come on Blue."

"Hey! We aren't done with you!" Another yells.

_Just give up already! _I bark, snapping my teeth at them.

The men back up and help to pick their friend up off of the ground. Kanda walks past the men and continues onto the street. I follow him, keeping my ears pricked so I can hear anyone trying to come up behind us.

* * *

Our finder appears just before sunset, greeting the three of us by the entrance of our hotel. Lavi rests a gloved hand on my head, his fingers poking through at the knuckles. The finder explains to us that the Akuma are commonly found tormenting the cities local chapel after nightfall.

We watch the sun set behind the city walls and the civilians all take shelter in their homes. As darkness falls, the three of us head out into the night.

"We should split up to cover more ground." Kanda says.

"Right." Lavi agrees, disconnecting the chain leash from my collar.

"Let's get this done tonight."

We walk off in different directions. Kanda sticks to the roof tops, Lavi and I patrol the streets. I separate from Lavi, taking to the shadows, blending in completely except for my teal eyes and glowing innocence.

I sniff the air, searching for the scent of Akuma or innocence. The ground is still warm from the heat of the day and it feels good on the pads at the bottom of my paws. My ears perk up as I walk through the darkness, evading the moonlight to better conceal myself.

The wind blows past me, bringing with it the faintest smell of..._Akuma! _I growl, unsheathing my glaws. Before I can turn around, something grabs me from behind, clenching my hind legs and bringing me up into the air. I writhe wildly in an attempt to get free but i'm held steady.

Before long I am hoisted all the way up above the city buildings. I look up at my captor and find that it is a level one Akuma. I swing around, building momentum to reach the Akuma.

"Die! Exorcist!" It screams. The Akuma throws me high up into the air, aiming its guns at me. I take this chance to attack, spinning myself around as I begin to drop back down towards the Akuma. It shoots wildly, missing every shot so far.

With arms outstretched and fangs dripping with the venom of innocence, I come crashing down onto its head, claws first. I dig into its rock-like flesh and bite deep into its head. The Akuma screeches as my venom spreads through its body. I jump away and onto a rooftop as the beast explodes.

I lift my head to the sky and let out a howl, hoping to alert the others. I can see Kanda in the distance, Mugen glinting in the pale moonlight. Explosions in the streets below accompanied by an enormous fire snake, indicate that Lavi is not far off from Kanda's position.

As if they were spawned by the darkness itself, pairs of Akuma begin appearing by all of our positions._There are so many. _I growl, lunging at the two in front of me. I claw at them viciously, tearing them apart and sending them into fiery explosions. When the smoke clears, Kanda is on the rooftop next to my own and Lavi is in the alley between us.

"Did you find the innocence?" Lavi calls up to us.

"Not yet." Kanda answers.

"Sage! See if you can track it."

I nod, looking over the rooftops and taking in a deep breath, sifting through the smells of the city to find that faint trace of innocence from before. _Dogs, shoes, garbage, soap…there it is. Innocence. _I let out a quick bark and jump off of the roof and into the street, pausing in front of Lavi and indicating the direction with my nose.

Careful not to lose the scent, I race through the streets, weaving in and out of alley ways. As the scent of innocence grows stronger, so does the scent of Akuma. The scream of a child erupts through the night, causing my fur to stand up straight. As I turn the corner, I see three level one Akuma closing in on a young girl.

"Help me!" The girl cries out, tears in her eyes as she backs up against the side of a building. "Somebody please!" She screams desperately. I can see people watching from their windows, but not a single one attempts to help the girl, instead, they lock their doors and close their curtains, ignoring the screams in the night.

I jump in front of the girl, putting myself between her and the Akuma. I look back at her for a moment, she can't be more than ten years old. Only a child and already abandoned by her people, simply because of their superstition. Her eyes linger on mine for a moment before I turn away, setting my attention on the Akuma.

I snarl at them as they raise their guns, purple light filling the barrels as they prepare to fire. There is no time to attack them now, if I move they will surely hit the girl. In a last minute decision, I quickly back up, knocking the girl onto the ground so that I stand over her completely.

It isn't hard to cover her small body, especially in this form when I am the size of a bear. I crouch down, curling myself around her, smothering her with my fur. Instead of starring down the Akuma as they fire, I close my eyes and hope for the best.

"Big hammer, little hammer! Grow, grow, grow!" Lavi shouts.

I look back up to see Lavi, holding out his hammer, which is now many times its original size, blocking all the Akumas fire. From behind him, Kanda slices the three beasts in half, destroying them with ease. Once the explosions are done, Lavi's hammer returns to normal size and he swings it around in his hand like a toy.

"Is this where the innocence is?" Kanda asks, flicking Akuma blood off of Mugen.

_Yes._ I nod, standing to reveal the small girl I had been shielding.

"Well hey there cutie, what's your name?" Lavi asks, crouching down on one knee in front of the girl.

"Lili." The girl says quietly.

"Well hey there Lili. Are you alright?" Lavi asks gently.

The girl nods, looking up at me as I tower over her. She pulls a stone out of her pocket and puts it in Lavi's hand. He looks at it confused and tries to give it back to the girl, but she just shakes her head and buries her face into one of my front legs. I sniff the stone carefully. _Innocence. _I whine.

"Is this your innocence?" Lavi asks the girl.

"I found it in a pond outside of town. I thought it was pretty and I wanted to keep it...but then it brought monsters here. And the elders sent all the girls away. I've been all alone. I don't want it anymore." Lili tells us, getting emotional again.

"It's ok now." Lavi says in his soothing voice, placing the stone in his pocket. "Kanda, is she an accommodator?"

"No. If the innocence was compatible with her then it would have activated by now." Kanda replies cooly.

"That's it then I guess." Lavi sighs.

The fur on the back of my neck sticks up and my ears perk. _Akuma. _I growl, looking back up to the rooftops. Several Akuma have moved in above us and don't waste time to fire down on us.

"Lavi, get the girl and the innocence out of here." Kanda says, unsheathing mugen.

"Right! Time to go Lili. You got this Yu?" Lavi asks, picking up Lili.

"What did you just say." Kanda growls.

"Of course you do! Sorry, sorry, heh…" Lavi laughs nervously, running down the street.

"You too." Kanda mumbles.

_Oh come on Kanda, let me help you._ I bark.

"Go escort that stupid rabbit, he has his hands full."

I sigh, but I know he can handle himself and he is right about Lavi. He can't fight with a kid in his arms. I take off down the street after them, catching up easily. I can hear several explosions behind us as Kanda crushes the Akuma, but the ones who survived have lost interest in him and come cruising down the street, chasing the innocence in Lavi's pocket.

Kanda follows after us, sending his illusions to try and catch them, but they only hit one Akuma. Lavi stops in front of our hotel, setting down the girl and fumbling with the door that is now locked. I turn around to see the Akuma right at our flanks, closing in on the three of us. _Hurry up and get her inside._ I growl, leaping at the Akuma, pushing them back.

My distraction gives Kanda enough time to reach us, but the pair of Akuma unleash a rain of bullets surging towards me. With nowhere to hide, I evade them frantically. Mugen glows blue in Kanda's hand as he fights the bullets. He slices through some of them, but others are deflected and sent soaring in random directions.

The Akuma don't let up and Kanda has no time to attack. With a bit of luck, the Akuma's are struck by their own bullets as they fly back off of Mugen. _Yes!_ I huff as the demons explode. In one last swing of Mugen, Kanda sends the last wave of bullets soaring in all directions. They crash into the sides of buildings, into the road and into the sky. _Shit._ I yelp, as a sharp and burning pain tears through my front left paw.

Kanda looks back, knowing what's coming. I look down at my paw and watch as pentacles spread up my leg, over my fur. Pain surges through me as if my leg is beginning to burn and rot away. Whimpering, I crumble to the ground, unable to move in this state.

"Sage!" Lavi yells, leaving Lili at the doorstep and running over.

"Shit." Kanda whispers, a shocked expression on his face as he drops to his knees in front of me, unsure of what to do.

_It's ok. Just give me a sec. _I whimper.

"Damn it Kanda!" Lavi yells, a helpless look in his eye.

_Did you both forget that I'm a parasitic type? It's ok._ I whimper, still shuddering as the poison burns my blood. Lavi touches my paw and I shudder, yelping at how raw the wound is. He flinches at the pathetic sound.

It only takes a few moments before the pentacles begin to recede as the innocence in my blood purifies my body. The spreading pain fades, but the gunshot wound to my paw is still very real. The bullet went in at an angle, but straight through and out into the pavement below. Blood trickles through my toes and onto the street.

"Oh, thank god." Lavi sighs, remembering the healing properties of parasitic type innocence.

"We have to get inside. People are watching." Kanda says, nodding towards the windows of surrounding buildings.

"Right." Lavi nods, standing up and going back to Lili, this time, using his shoulder to force the door open.

Kanda picks me up and carries me inside, I wince as my sensitive paw is moved around. _Don't feel bad Kanda._ I whimper, leaning up enough so that I can lick his chin. Despite my efforts, his face stays serious as he carries me to our room. While Kanda brings me there, Lavi talks to the front desk about a room for the girl.

Kanda sets me down on one of the beds, closing the door behind him. _Innocence._ The bit on my chest quickly flashes and i'm me again. Exhausted from an entire day of activation, I let out a moan, feeling my left hand throb. I sit up on the bed, clenching my wrist which is now painted red with my blood.

"Let me see." Kanda says, bringing over a little chest with a red cross on it.

"It's really not that bad." I say, pulling my hand away.

"Let. Me. See." Kanda says, grabbing my wrist.

I flinch as a burst of pain shoots up my left arm. "Sorry." Kanda says, a little more gently. I nod and he examines my hand. He opens up the chest and wets a cloth with water, wiping away the blood.

"You're dangerous." I laugh as he puts the bloody rag down and grabs for a glass bottle with clear liquid.

"I feel like I've warned you before." He says lightly, pouring the contents of the bottle onto my hand.

"Hey!" I pull back as my wound burns.

"It's just alcohol." He says amused, drying off my hand before wrapping it.  
"Thank you doctor Kanda." I tease, pulling my sore hand away and gently rubbing over its wrapping.

He smirks, ignoring my jokes. I lay back down on the bed and curl up into a ball. My hand throbs and stings, making it impossible to relax. Lavi enters the room alone and walks over to me, looking over my hand. I flinch when he bumps it.

"We don't have any painkillers do we?" I ask.

"Afraid not." Lavi sighs.

"We leave tomorrow morning. The sooner we get the innocence out of here the sooner the Akuma will leave this city alone." Kanda says.

"Where's Lili?" I ask Lavi.

"Management is letting her stay in a spare room for the night." He answers.

I nod, relieved by the news. He takes the innocence out of his pocket and rolls the stone through his hand. I look over at Kanda, who sits on the floor next to the other bed. "Hey Kanda." he looks up. "Is this going to be a regular thing?" I laugh, lifting my hand. He shakes his head amused, remembering how last mission ended with him accidentally hurting me too.

* * *

I wait in the shade of a building next to the city entrance, trying my best to be discrete. Kanda gave me back my exorcists jacket this morning so that I could be ready to go when we left. I don't bother activating at this point, since many of the towns people have gathered at the center of the city where our finder is informing them about our success.

Kanda and Lavi walk up the street towards the entrance where I wait. They have train tickets in their hands and Kanda carries a suitcase with what must be money. They reach the entrance and hand me my own ticket.

"Let's get going, it's a long ride back." Lavi says, putting his hands behind his head as he walks.

"I hope you're planning on buying some pain killer with all that money Kanda." I chuckle.

He rolls his eyes and they continue past me. I begin to follow them, but a familiar scent catches my attention. Pausing, I turn around to see Lili peeking around the corner of the building I was standing by. She stares at me wide eyed. I smile, waving to her with my wrapped left hand. She takes a moment, looking at me black hair, teal eyes and wrapped hand, and then her eyes light up and a toothy smile spreads across her face.

I dig through my pocket for a moment and find the chain link leash that I had been led with during this mission. Pulling it out of my pocket, I toss it onto the ground in her direction. Recognising it, she stares at me in awe. I give her a wink and laugh a little to myself before waving goodbye and turning back to my companions.

"Take care Lili." I say, waving my left hand as I walk away. I can just barely hear her say the name Blue as I catch up to Kanda and Lavi.

* * *

**So here it is! Once again sorry it took so long to update. Please leave a review to let me know how you like the story, it really encourages me to keep writing. I love hearing from you guys! Anyways, new chapters will be posted soon! Thanks for reading ^.^**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! New chapter, thanks for reading. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think, it really boosts my moral!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"Ugh!" I huff, flinching as Kanda's clenched fist plants a heavy hit in my gut.

"Flex to brace." Kanda says calmly, throwing another quick jab at me.

"Ergh!" I grunt, tightening my core to absorb the hit.

"Watch your back!" Lavi calls out behind me.

I duck and feel the force of Lavi's punch sail over my head, missing me completely as it lands on Kanda. I crouch as low as I can get and sweep Kanda's leg with my own, knocking him to the floor. I spin around to face Lavi and just barely evade a punch to the face. His arm extends past my head and I take the opportunity to grab Lavi's arm. Twisting around and using leverage, I roll him over my back, slamming him onto Kanda.

"Hah! Winning." I smirk, dusting off my exorcists coat.

"Get off of me Rabbit!" Kanda growls, shoving Lavi onto the floor and away from him.

"Aye! Easy there Yu!" Lavi grumbles, sitting up.

"I thought you two were suppose to be pros." I tease.

Kanda growls, climbing back up to his feet. He takes a moment to get into a fighting stance. I crack my neck and nod towards Kanda. He jumps at me, moving faster before, but I can keep up. We exchange throws, dodging and ducking from each other.

Lavi rolls backwards towards his head and swings back, using his momentum to force himself up. I duck under Kanda and jab him in the throat. He coughs and grabs at his throat, giving me the opportunity I need to get space between us.

Lavi grabs my head, putting me in a choke hold. I elbow him repeatedly in the stomach, but he doesn't budge, as if my hits are completely benign. Kanda closes in, a glint of payback in his eyes. I drop all of my weight on Lavi and throw my legs up, kicking Kanda back as the force nearly knocks Lavi back.

I twist out of Lavi's grip and push him aside. Sweeping past Kanda's side I throw my elbow into his back. He twists around and grabs my shoulder, pulling me back. I attempt to kick him but he catches my leg. Running out of options, I jump up and throw my other leg over his neck. With this new angle, my trapped leg is released and I'm able to use it to spin around on his shoulders. I grab his head, putting one hand on his forehead and the other on his jaw.

"You're out." I grin. He huffs and stands still.

"Alright, well done." Kanda sighs as I climb off his neck.

"Well, well Kanda. Looks like I beat you." Lavi smirks.

"Don't push your luck rabbit. Worry about beating her." Kanda growls.

Kanda moves over to the wall and I turn to Lavi. We get back at it, but Lavi is so much faster than Kanda. This time, I can't keep up. I jab at Lavi but he crouches down and sweeps my legs out from under me. I grunt as I hit the floor, flat on my back. Already low, Lavi jumps on top of me, one knee at his side and the other on my stomach. I try to push him off, but he grabs both of my wrists with just one of his hands and uses his spare to prop himself up.

_Shit. He's gonna win. _A cocky grin spreads across his face. He could end it right now. He could finish the match and win. But he doesn't. He moves his knee off of my stomach and raises an eyebrow. Confused, I knee him from behind, knocking him off. In one swift movement, he's on his back and my forearm is against his throat.

"You win." He smirks.

"What the hell was that?" I ask, letting him up.

"What was what?"

"You were winning."

"Correction, you were winning." He laughs, sitting up.

"Stop going easy on me!" I say, shoving him playfully.

Lavi gets up and shakes the dirt off of this back. He grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. Kanda rolls his eyes and walks over to us from the wall. He glares at Lavi for a moment but Lavi just shrugs. Kanda rolls his eyes and wipes the sweat off of his brow. I chuckle at their little exchange and take a moment to catch my breath.

It's been a week since the three of us arrived from our last mission. It didn't take too long for my hand to heal from the stray bullet that ricochet off of Mugen. It's still sore, but all that remains is a little pink scar. Kanda doesn't like to look at it, unlike the bruises he gave me from our first mission, this mark won't go away.

"So round two anyone?" I ask.

"I don't know if Yu's pride can handle another beating." Lavi teases.

"You weren't the only one going easy rabbit." Kanda growls, glaring at the red-head.

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean, you guys are just pissed that I kicked your asses." I say.

"Yu's just nervous because he's got a bad habit of beating you up." Lavi says.

"Watch your mouth usagi!" Kanda yells, grabbing Lavi's collar and lifting him up a bit.

"Well your track record isn't looking too bright." Lavi continues, an evil grin on his face.

He doesn't seem the least bit intimidated by the samurai's threats, he even seems to thrive off of Kanda's reaction. I shake my head and grab Kanda's arm. He hesitates, but releases Lavi. They exchange taunting looks but both ease up.

"Ok so is that a no on round two?" I ask.

"Whatever. But this time, I'm not going easy." Kanda sighs.

"That's the spirit!" Lavi says, patting Kanda on the back.

"Well it's about damn time." I laugh.

Kanda and Lavi get back to the fighting area while I stretch out my arms. I look at the two of them, amused by their behavior. I hadn't really thought of it before, but these two must be the best friends that I have. This overly aggressive, blue-haired samurai and this crazy, hammer swinging red-head, are the closest people to me.

"What? I thought you wanted a rematch." Kanda growls.

"I love you guys." I smile.

"Did we hit you a little too hard before?" Lavi asks surprised.

"No, I'm just saying." I laugh, walking over to them.

"But you love me more, right?" Lavi presses. I roll my eyes at him.

"Shut up rabbit."

* * *

**I know this is a short chapter, but I just wanted a cute little filler. Well, hopefully it was kinda cute. I'll post again soon! Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry it took so long to post this chapter, but here it is! I hope you guys enjoy, leave a comment to let me know how you like it! Thanks for reading ^.^**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

I rub at my sore legs, exhausted from a long month of missions. Today is our first day back and Komui has promised us at least a few days of rest. I told Lavi and Kanda that I would meet up with them later for dinner, but I wanted to stop by my room first to unwind a bit. The past few weeks have been killer, with the number of Akuma rising and the missions lasting longer and longer. I walk into the bathroom and turn on a light. Slipping out of my worn clothes, I get into the shower, letting the hot water steam up the room.

I sit down and let the hot water wash away the grime that has been building on my skin. A sigh of relief escapes my lips and I scrub at my skin with my hand. I look over my body, each mission left me with a little souvenir from Kanda. A string of scabs lines the side of my leg, a big purple bruise colors my left ribs, a slit cuts down the center of my bottom lip and my back aches. Each little injury from an accident involving Kanda. I don't complain about them because I know that he gets whiplash from Lavi.

After using up all the hot water, my skin finally feels like it can start healing. Still aching, I make my way into the bedroom to change into some casual clothes. Most of the clothes I have are virtually untouched since i spend so much time in my exorcist uniform.

I settle on my usual black cargo pants and knee high boots. Instead of my exorcists jacket, I wear a teal cami with a light weight black hooded jacket. I leave it unzipped because it's still fairly warm outside. Rolling up my sleeves, I rough up my thick hair that is already drying in its usual wavy style. _Well it's not gonna dry any faster._ I sigh and let it fall past my shoulders and down the the small of my back.

Feeling drowsy, I force myself to meet up with Lavi and Kanda. As soon as I leave my room I regret it. My muscles are overly fatigued and I have an aching behind my eyes. It makes me want to return to my room and pass out, but I force myself down the long hallway towards the cafeteria

When I arrive, Kanda and Lavi are already settled and eating. Lavi, in his usual blue shirt, with the buttons near the neck undone and Kanda, wearing a black sleeveless shirt. Aside from Kanda eating his soba and Lavi eating his soup, there really aren't very many people in the room with us.

I go to Jerry and only order a bowl of pasta and some tea. It's far less than I usually get, but I'm really only eating to please my friends. I take a seat next to Lavi, greeting them with a weak smile. They seem beat too, Kanda lazily eats his meal and Lavi has a book sprawled out on the table next to his bowl. He stares at it blankly and jots down a note every so often.

I take a bite of my spaghetti but barely have the energy to swallow it. In hopes of relieving some of the pain behind my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose. Kanda looks up from his Soba.

"What's the matter?" He asks.

"I think I'm just tired, but...my eyes are killing me." I tell him. "What's he doing?"

I gesture to Lavi, who seems completely absorbed in his book. Kanda shrugs and kick's Lavi's boot from under the table. The red-head looks up from his task, and raises his eyebrows when he sees me.

"You look nice." He grins.

"Thanks, you guys don't look too bad either." I chuckle.

"That's all you're gonna eat? We haven't had access to real food all month." He says surprised.

"Later maybe, so what's that?" I ask him, eyeing his book.

"Oh, just bookman stuff, I have to keep a record of this war. It's boring really." He sighs.

I rub my eyes and yawn loudly. Lavi's brow furrows as he watches my behavior. He seems concerned at my disinterest in food, or consciousness for that matter. Even Kanda acts weary, he sighs everytime he sees one of the bruises or scrapes that he left me with.

"I've never seen you so wiped out before." Lavi mentions.

"Yea, I don't know, it's probably from activating so much." I tell him.

"You don't think it's like what General Nine-" Lavi starts but I cut him off mid sentence.

"No. I don't. So what have you got in there so far?" I try to double back to the last topic.

"Not enough." He sighs.

He doesn't seem too happy to continue talking about his bookman duties, so I drop the conversation. I play around with the pasta in my bowl and suddenly feel like I'm about to pass out right here in my dinner. My head bobs and I push my bowl away, nearly knocking it off of the table.

"Hey are you ok?" Lavi asks, sitting up straight.

"Huh? Yea." I mumble. Kanda looks up and moves my bowl away from the edge of the table.

"I think you need to go to bed." Kanda says.

"I got it, I'll see you later." I start to push myself up, but I nearly fall off of the bench.

"Okayyy no you don't. I'm taking you back to your room." Lavi says, straightening me out.

He stands up and grabs my shoulders, helping me stand. I try to stay upright but I almost drop again. Lavi takes my arm and pulls it over his shoulder. I hadn't noticed how much taller than me he is, he's practically towering over me now. I let him lead me and only focus on walking.

He laughs lightly to himself, mildly amused at this little ordeal. I raise an eyebrow and lift my head up a little bit.

"What are you laughing at?" I ask him.

"Nothin, I just wish you wouldn't push yourself so much, that's all." Lavi sighs.

"Well that wouldn't be any fun now would it?"

"You're crazy." He says.

He shakes his head and puts an arm around my waist to make me walk a little better. We make it to my room and I push open the door. Lavi helps me over to my bed and I plop down, ready to pass out. He waits a moment, sitting down on my bed, brushing my bangs out of my face.

I feel the bed move as he gets up to leave. Suddenly all I want is for him to stay just a little longer. I prop myself up and catch his hand as he turns away. He comes back and sits next to me, a little grin on his face.

"What?" He asks.

"Stay." I tell him, resting my forehead in his chest.

"I have to finish that entry you know." He chuckles, placing a hand on my head.

"I know. Just a sec though." I take in a deep breath and find that familiar scent of a smokey fire. It puts me at ease and I can't explain it, but I want to just stay here forever.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it took so long to post this, I've gotten so busy with school and work. I promise to try harder! Thanks for reading and please leave a review! Thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

I slowly wake, stretching out over the bed before slowly opening my eyes. My vision is blurry at first, so I rub my eyes only to find Kanda's dark eyes right above mine. Shooting back surprised, I nearly fall off of my bed. Kanda raises an eyebrow, amused by my reaction.

"Kanda what the hell.." I mumble in a sleepy voice.

"You look like hell." He says, standing up straight.

"Very funny wise guy, what are you doing?" I ask, sitting up and scratching my head.

"Lavi couldn't be here, so I came."

I get up and look down at the clothes I fell asleep in. My button down is all wrinkled up and messy, so I pull it off and toss it onto the ground. Wandering around the room aimlessly, I search for my exorcist jacket.

"Over here okami." Kanda says, holding up my jacket.

I sigh, confused as to how he got ahold of it. "Don't know what that means so I'll just pretend its a compliment." I say, snatching it out of his hands.

"I mean, it isn't an insult." He smirks.

I eye him sharply, slipping into my uniform and heading towards the door. I feel much more rested than I had last night, but I can tell by Kanda's amused expression, that I must still look like a wreck. Suddenly, I remember last night and how I fell asleep. I look over to Kanda, my brows furrowed.

"Where's Lavi?" I ask.

"He has some things to take care of. Bookman's had him all night and morning. I wouldn't expect to see him anytime soon." He says, a strange look in his eyes.

"Why not?" I pry, suspicious.

"Stop asking so many questions." Kanda sighs.

I growl at him but let it go. I walk out of the room, a little annoyed, with Kanda close behind. I probably wouldn't be so bothered if I Kanda hadn't made that comment about Lavi. Now I have this sick feeling in my gut, like I don't know when I'm going to see him next. _Oh stop it. It's literally been ten minutes. _

* * *

The morning goes by slowly, breakfast drags on and I'm not even interested in my meal. Allen and Lenalee ramble on about how crazy Komui has been lately, but I hardly pay attention. I push my plates aside and stand up. Kanda looks up from his soba, curious.

"What are you doing Okami?" He asks.

"I'm getting stir crazy." I tell him.

"We've barely been home for more than a day. How can you be stir crazy?"  
"I don't know! I just am." I growl at him.

Kanda chuckles amused. My eye twitches with frustration from his taunts. Just then, a finder walks up to Kanda and hands him a letter. I raise an eyebrow as Kanda reads it. After a moment, he folds the letter and tucks it into his exorcist coat. He sighs and goes back to eating his Soba.

"Well, what was it?" I ask, poking his shoulder.

"An inconvenience." He mumbles.

"Details please. Use your words Kanda."

"A mission. Even though we were promised a break." He sighs.

"Ok, great! When do we leave?" I asked, actually glad to have an excuse to go out.

"Now would be best."

"Ok, I'll go get Lavi." I tell him, turning away.

"Nope, this one only calls for the two of us."

_What!? _It's not that I mind being alone with Kanda, it's just that I was really hoping to see Lavi. But now with the promise of a mission, that probably won't happen for at least a few more days.I turn back to face the blue-haired exorcist. I tap my foot impatiently behind him while he calmly eats his food.

"Hey Kanda." I say sweetly.

"What?" He asks, unmoving.

"Let's go!" I yell, grabbing the back of his coat collar and pulling him out of his seat.

"Hey!" He snarls, nearly falling backwards, but regaining his composure.

Lenalee and Allen burst out laughing at the site of Kanda being man-handled. The angry samurai turns around and glares at me with a look that could kill. I raise an eyebrow, daring him to do something. We stand there for a moment, until he eventually exhales loudly and grabs the chain link around my neck, pulling it with him as he walks.

"Fine then, come on doggy." He taunts.

"Hey! Kanda!" I follow him just to keep myself from choking, pulling at his death grip.

"This should be fun." He mumbles evilly.

Eventually I pull free from his grip and we make our way through the castle, occasionally shoving each other into the walls. We reach the canal at the bottom of the castle where Komui and a finder are waiting. They greet us and the finder helps me into our boat.

"Kanda, Sage, I know you usually undergo missions as a treo, but I have the utmost confidence in you two." Komui says.

"The contract was very brief, any details we should know before leaving?" Kanda asks.

"Yea, I don't have to pretend to be the order's pet this time do I?" I ask sarcastically.

"Oh of course not. There is just a slight Akuma infestation in a small town in Sweden. Your finder has the location details." Komui answers.

Kanda nods and boards the boat. I help our finder by pushing the boat away from the dock. He takes a long rod and uses it to push along the bottom of the canal and move the boat.

"Have fun!" Komui smiles, waving goodbye.

I raise an eyebrow at him. _Have fun? What's that suppose to mean? _Kanda shakes his head and rolls his eyes, taking a seat with his hand on Mugen. I sit across from him, stroking the glowing innocence by my collar.

* * *

After a long day of traveling, Kanda and I finally make it to our sit at the outskirts of a small town, awaiting nightfall. I look around us, the land here is beautiful. The sky is overcast and everything is leafy green. I sigh, taking in a deep breath.

"Yep smells like rain." I grin.

"You seem to be feeling better." Kanda says, closing his eyes and leaning back.

"I told you, I get stir crazy. But now that we're out here it's all better. It's kind of like a vacation if you think about it. There's really nice scenery here and all we have to do is kill a few Akuma." I grin.

"You are like a wolf. Remind me to just take you on a walk next time." Kanda says.

"Watch it." I growl. "You'll kill the mood."

Moments later, rain begins to fall. I look up at the sky and stick out my tongue, letting it collect droplets of water. Suddenly, a hand grabs my head and aims it towards the town. I shake free to find Kanda intently staring at something towards the town. He's already in a crouched position, with one hand on Mugen.

"Huh?" I mumble, trying to see what Kanda is looking at.

"Akuma." He growls.

Sure enough, I see a group of Akuma emerging from the hills around the town. I stand up and crack my knuckles.

"Well what are we waiting for?" I ask Kanda, grinning.

_Innocence, activate! _The green light of innocence flashes for an instant, like lightning in the storm. My vision blurs for a moment, then clears, becoming even clearer than before. I take off running, faster in this form. I can hear Kanda unsheathing mugen, running from close behind.

We intercept the Akuma before they can reach the town. I jump into one of the Akuma, snarling with teeth bared and claws outstretched. Kanda slashes Mugen through the air, releasing weapon like illusions of hellish insects.

I bite and slash and ram into the Akuma while Kanda's illusions attack. Akuma explode around us, spraying bullets through the air. It doesn't take too long for their numbers to deplete. Kanda and I are able to keep any Akuma from reaching the town.

Once all the Akuma are destroyed, we take a deep breathe. Kanda flicks the Akuma blood off of Mugen and trails his finger across its blade, sheathing it once again. I walk over to him and he pats my head. I shake the water out of my fur and deactivate.

"Hey!" Kanda growls.

"Oh hush, you're already wet, plus its still raining." I laugh, pulling my wet hair to one side.

"I can't believe Komui sent me on such a simple mission." He sighs.

"I'm getting pretty good at this myself, I could've done it myself." I grin.

Kanda chuckles and tussles my hair. I shake my head and attempt to fix it. Our job is done here already, but I'm loving the weather here.

"Hey, let's have some fun while we're here." I tell him.

"Fun?" Kanda asks, as if he has never heard the word before.

"Yea, ya know, fun. Let's go swimming or something."

"Swimming?" He asks.

"You mean you didn't hear that waterfall?"

"No, I don't have wolf ears." He grumbles.

"Well it's only about a mile off from here, come on, live a little!" I exclaim.

He sighs and nods. I grin, grabbing the sleeve of his coat and leading him away from the village, in the direction of the waterfall that I heard from before.


End file.
